Atakku
by DarkShadowFlame
Summary: -sequel to Sakakku- In Akuma, the reborn Ra enslaves Téa and Odion. Traveling in the desert is Yami’s recreated council of priests; and seeking shelter in Pegasus’ castle are the rest of his friends and unexpected allies.
1. Chapter 1

Atakku

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Notes: As per the summary, this is the _sequel_ to a very involved and complex story. Reading Sakakku, and probably Umi, first is highly recommended. To my favorite reviewers from Sakakku- welcome! I have big plans for this story and it should be just as fun, if not more, to write. And I can only hope the same is true for reading. :P

Disclaimer: I do not and will never own YuGiOh.

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Chapter 1

xXx

Mokuba and Ezra had been attempting to play various games, but since they'd been walking at a fairly steady pace, the best they could come up with was Rock, Paper, Scissors. And that didn't always work out.

"You should try picking something other than Rock," Ezra suggested after beating him for the fifth time.

"But Rock is my favorite," Mokuba said, sighing.

"I know, but since I know you'll pick Rock I always choose Paper. It takes all the fun out of the game."

"Okay, once more. I'll do something else," Mokuba said, sighing. "Rock… Paper… Scissors… _shoot_!"

Ezra stuck out Scissors.

Mokuba put out Rock.

"Sucker," he said, grinning.

"You tricked me," she shot back, making a face.

Ahead of them trudged Ryou, Bakura, Malik, and Marik. Ryou hadn't said a word since breakfast a few hours back. Marik, on the other hand, hadn't stopped talking. Half the time he was complaining about Yami, half the time he was complaining about Ra, and half the time he was complaining about Egypt and its stupid deserts. Marik was the only person Ryou knew who was capable of talking one-hundred and fifty percent of the time.

Bakura occasionally threw in a few sarcastic remarks. Malik would chirp in at random intervals, defending Yami half the time and slandering Yami the other half.

" "Tear up the God Card, Marik,' " Marik mocked in a high voice. "Tear the God Card, he says. So for once I _listen_ to the Pharaoh. And what happens? Tearing the card in half releases the spirit of Ra onto the planet in corporeal form, and we all have to flee Egypt, and so we've been walking through this broiling desert for the last week!"

"Actually, he just told you to get rid of the God Card," Malik said conversationally. "You were the one dumb enough to rip it in half."

"And with lousy company, too," Marik continued, ignoring him. "We've got Taylor and Devlin, who run up to us sweaty and filthy and launch themselves at Wheeler junior on the second day. We've got the stupid Pharaoh, who hasn't spoken since we left the city because he's in mourning for Gardner. We've got the Pharaoh's other half, who's so short we lose him most of the time. We've got Shadi and Ishizu, who seem to make a career out of bickering part of the time and yelling at me the rest. We've got Wheeler and the other blonde, who when they aren't brooding are sucking face. We've got I've-got-a-permanent-scowl-stuck-to-my-sneering-face-Kaiba and his bratty little brother. We've got Geoff and that other kid whose name I never found out and her annoying dog. And we've got that eyeless freak and his pointy-haired henchman-"

His knee suddenly buckled and he went down. Malik just snickered and continued on. Ryou and Bakura trudged through the sand, not bothering to look back.

Marik whirled around and snarled, searching for the person who had kicked him. Mokuba was craning his neck to look through the small crowd up ahead, but Ezra was shooting him a very alarmed look. Anuba growled at him from her mistress' side. Marik drew back his upper lip and shot Ezra his most evil sneer, fingers curving as if itching to strangle her.

"Seto!" she shrieked, closing her eyes.

Miraculously, he appeared over her shoulder, scowling at Marik. "Give me a break," he grumbled, grabbing both her neck and his little brother's and steering them less-than-gently toward what he deemed the saner part of their group. Namely, Yugi and Serenity and Geoff.

"Thanks," Ezra squeaked when they were far enough away from Marik. "And- sarcasm- thanks a lot, Mokuba."

"I didn't know he'd blame you when I kicked him," Mokuba mumbled, blushing. Behind him, Anuba trotted up with a mouthful of fabric, looking pleased with herself. Ezra rolled her eyes and removed the purple cloth that had once been Marik's robe from Anuba's jaws, avoiding the glare of the blonde, pointy-haired psycho and hiding a smile.

"This is awful," Yugi said worriedly, shooting a glance over his shoulder at the rest of the sullen group. "None of us are getting along."

"You mean we did in the first place?" Seto deadpanned, folding his arms and scowling.

"We're all fighting," Serenity said, twisting her fingers. "This has been such a stressful week. Rotten feelings are stewing everywhere."

"And none more so than in 'Smiling Seto', as I like to call him," Joey said cheerfully, coming up next to them hand-in-hand with Mai.

"Shut it, Wheeler," Seto growled tiredly.

"So what's going on here, anyway?" Tristan asked, coming up. Duke trailed after him, winking at Serenity and earning two elbows in the stomach (one from Joey and another from Tristan). Serenity blushed and edged closer to Yugi.

"The same thing that's been going on for the last week," Mokuba mumbled, dragging his feet in the sand as they trudged onward. "Do we even know where we're going?"

"Of course we know where we're going," Yugi said, sounding surprised. "You mean you didn't know?"

"We have a destination in mind?" Seto demanded, looking very put-out. "Why wasn't I informed?"

"Geez, I'm sorry, guys," Yugi apologized. "I only know 'cause I overheard Yami talking with Pegasus. We haven't been very good with group communication, have we?"

"No," Mai said bluntly. "We haven't. We seriously need to take some time to regroup."

"I know," Yugi said, nodding. "I guess they thought we could do our talking when we settle down. For now, we're just concentrating on getting there."

"Where's 'there'?" Seto asked grouchily.

"We're headed somewhere far away from Ra, somewhere where we'll be safe for a while," Serenity answered. "I heard them talking too."

"Yup," Yugi affirmed. "We're gonna make camp at Pegasus' castle."

xXx

Two days later, Seto reached the top of the sand dune and looked down. "Yugi," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "How exactly are we planning to get out there?"

Yugi hurried up beside him. "Wow, I didn't know it was that nice," he said, impressed.

The castle Pegasus brought them to was the place he'd resided in after Marik and Bakura's hostile take-over. It was on the fringes of the desert, where the Nile ran through. The river grew extremely broad at this point, and actually split into two slices before joining again; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that there was an island in the center of the river. On that island was a monstrous castle; it was made of huge stone slabs and intimidating towers. Seto couldn't see a single entrance in or out save the main gate, although logic told him there would be at least one back door.

"It's well fortified," Pegasus said, coming up to the rest of the group. Everyone was just now catching sight of the palace. "And well stocked in addition. It's far enough away from the mainland that we shouldn't have any problems."

"Except, of course, Ra, who has earned the name Winged Dragon by its amazing capability to fly over even the Nile River in order to smash the pretty dollhouse to pieces," Marik grumbled.

"How are we supposed to get out there?" Seto asked again, loudly. "I don't see any boats or bridges."

"Here's one," Pegasus shot back, waving a card in front of his nose. "Skull Mariner."

Mokuba cringed as he eyed the ghost ship Pegasus planned to Summon. Seto glared back at Pegasus. "That doesn't seem your usual kind of card," he said coolly.

"Seto Kaiba, inside that fortress are _all_ the Duel Monster Cards," Pegasus responded tightly. "As the creator of Duel Monsters- at least the way we know it- I have nearly one of every kind of card. When preparing to make my original journey, I gathered quite a selection in addition to my deck."

Seto snorted, but inside he was wondering. What rare and powerful cards did Pegasus have that he'd never heard of? Maybe he could get his hands on some once they were inside.

xXx

"All aboard!" Pegasus called cheerfully. Serenity sighed, partly because she was nervous. That ship looked _creepy_. But Joey had swung himself up onto the Skull Mariner with ease and extended a hand down to Mai. She looked at it a second, gave Joey an annoyed shove, and climbed up herself.

She started toward the ship, then looked over her shoulder to see Yugi blushing. "Is something the matter?"

Yugi looked away. "I'm going to need a boost," he muttered quietly. Serenity bit her lip to stifle a giggle. It would be rude to laugh at him. Besides, she might need a step up herself.

Ezra was trying to lift Mokuba on board, but he kept getting nervous and squirming and she nearly dropped him. This caused Seto to stride over, growling, and practically fling both of them onto the ship. Then he climbed on himself and stomped over to the bow, looking out over the water and stubbornly ignoring everyone around him. Anuba leapt up after them, licking Seto's dangling hand enthusiastically and trotting over to Ezra's side.

Marik was trying to get on, but he wasn't as graceful as the others; he had managed to throw his upper body on deck and was waving his legs comically. Bakura and Malik stood by, laughing, and not showing the slightest inclination of helping. Ryou gave both of them the dirtiest look he could muster (which was rather pitiful) and walked over kindly to help, forgetting that Marik didn't take help well: all Ryou earned was a kick in the side of the head.

Shadi and Ishizu were already on board, though no one had seen them trying to get up. "Magicians," Marik grumbled once he was finally completely on.

"Come on," Kimo spoke up, kneeling down and lacing his fingers together. "I'll give everyone a boost."

One by one, the remaining passengers stepped into his hands and onto the deck, pressing into the corners of the ship nervously (and, in Kaiba's opinion, severely pressing upon his personal space. When Yugi stumbled into him, it was only by a sharp glare on Yami's part that the short boy with the tri-colored hair didn't find himself suddenly bobbing up and down in the slowly-drifting waters.).

Skull Mariner was moving through the waters, guided by Pegasus, sitting carefully atop the bowsprit and concentrating on the card he held in his hands. His face was scrunched up in concentration, and when the ship ground to a halt upon the low rocks he nearly fell overboard. Ryou and Geoff both lost their balance and went crashing into Marik and Seto- the two people on board the ship you'd _least_ want to knock over.

"Who's that?" Serenity asked, pushing between Joey and Shadi to stare at the castle. It looked even huger than before because it was so close, and there was a narrow cobbled path leading down from the main gate. A single figure walked down that path towards them.

"Croquet!" Duke yelled, leaning over the edge and waving enthusiastically. Tristan eyed him, and decided it wasn't worth cleaning up the mess to 'accidentally' shove him overboard. Besides, there was something about racing through a broiling desert for several days together that really bonded people. "Nice to see you again!" Duke called.

"Ah, Croquet," Pegasus sighed in relief, sliding carefully from the bowsprit and landing with a splash in the ankle-deep water. "Thank goodness I'm home safely. Please, oh _please_ tell me there's hot water ready for my bath. I haven't been properly clean in _weeks_."

"Of course, Mister Pegasus," Croquet answered stoically, wearing what must have been the last pair of sunglasses left on the planet. ("How'd we miss those when we converted Ancient Egypt-style?" Marik wondered.)

"Yes, let's get ourselves rested and cleaned and well-fed," Yami spoke up. Everyone immediately fell silent. There was something about him that had changed since Ra had been reborn- a special quality that had always been present but had been enhanced by his long trials. "And then we will meet, to discuss how to defeat Ra."

"This is _not_ going to be a pleasant vacation," Tristan immediately decided.

xXx

Servants magically appeared to deliver everyone soap, lead people to hot baths, bring them clean clothes, seat them in front of a long table piled with food, and clean up when everyone was done stuffing themselves.

"Does Pegasus live like this all the time?" Serenity whispered.

"It's amazing luxury," Duke chimed in, gazing at his idol with worshipping eyes.

"I can't believe how many servants he has," Yugi said, eyes darting around. He felt strange, having people wait on him. He'd spent the last year living in the desert, after all. Marik and Bakura simply rolled their eyes; _their_ palace had been far better.

"Ten," Tristan said proudly.

"Twelve," Joey said smugly, patting his stomach. "Man, those rolls were good…"

"Oh yeah?" Tristan demanded. "Well, how many of those chicken wings did you eat?"

"Five."

"_Six_," Tristan said, leaning back and stretching. "Aaah…"

Joey frowned. "Well, I had three apples, a peach, and that other yellow thing."

"I had two of the yellow things."

Seated at the head of the table, Yami rose solemnly. Once again, silence descended abruptly. "We must discuss the future," he said quietly, but no one missed his words. "Children should leave now."

Everyone looked around at each other. Children? Invariably, everyone's eyes descended on Mokuba. The small boy bristled, preparing for an argument. "I'm staying," he said stubbornly. "I want to hear this."

"Ezra, take Mokuba to another room," Seto ordered from his place at Yami's right.

She merely arched an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, right. Like I'm going to miss this."

He sighed in irritation. "Mokuba…"

"No!"

"I'll take him," Geoff volunteered, half-rising in his seat.

"You don't have to…" Mai said, furrowing her brow.

"I don't really feel like it's my place to be here," Geoff confessed, flushing slightly.

"Of course you belong here!" Ryou said anxiously, reaching over and tugging on his shirt sleeve. "You rescued me and Malik! You deserve to have a say in our discussion!"

"Me too!" Mokuba chimed in. Geoff reluctantly retook his place.

"Mokuba, get out!" Seto said, his voice exasperated. "So we can get on with this!"

"No!"

"Out!"

"Jerk!" Mokuba stuck his tongue out at Seto and stormed out. They could hear his feet pounding on the stone floor all the way up a flight of stairs and into the large common room on the second floor.

Most of them laughed; the comic act of the brothers came as a relief after the stressful previous days. Seto slumped back in his seat, glowering. "You'll have to apologize to him later," Ezra remarked offhandedly.

Serenity, for her part, remained perfectly still and tried to be invisible- she was the next youngest, and she didn't want anyone trying to throw _her_ out. Mai, sitting next to her, shot her a lopsided smile and Serenity breathed a sigh of relief: at least she didn't have to worry about Mai ratting her out.

"What did you have in mind, Yami?" Yugi asked anxiously, bringing the important topic 'round again as a hush descended over the room.

Yami shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Bring out the Millennium Items."

There was a pause, then Shadi seemingly pulled the Key and the Scales from midair and placed them on the table in front of him. After a nudge from Ryou, Bakura slid the Ring over his head and let it clatter onto the wooden surface. Ishizu carefully removed the Necklace and put it down reverently, letting the golden chain clink into place. Yami didn't remove his Puzzle; instead, he eyed the four Items on the table and waited.

After a long pause, inaudible grumbling emitted from Bakura and the Millennium Eye went rolling across the table. It stopped right in front of Pegasus, who looked from the engraved eyeball to Bakura and finally back up at Yami.

"And the Rod, I can only assume, is still back at Akuma," he said gravely.

Malik poked Marik in the side. "You _didn't_ steal it back, right?" he whispered.

"Shut it," Marik ground out, grabbing his finger and bending it backwards.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

The second cry of pain was from Marik. Ishizu fixed him with a steely glare. "Behave yourself or I'll do it again," she whispered frostily.

"Why does everyone have it out for me?" Marik moaned, but fell silent again.

Yami sighed, a drawn-out and painful sound. Seto rolled his eyes.

"Five thousand years ago," Yami said in a low voice, catching everyone's attention, "I had a council of advisors. These six priests each bore one of the Millennium Items. To defeat Ra, I will recreate this council."

When he stopped talking, everyone fell silent. After a long pause, Marik naturally spoke up. "Aren't they all dead by now? And just how do you think you can defeat Ra, anyway?"

Yami turned a cool gaze toward him, showing no sign of irritation at the interruption.

"I have a plan."


	2. Chapter 2

Atakku

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Chapter 2

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Téa groaned. Her head hurt like anything, and the bright light streaming on it was _not_ helping. She wondered what had happened last night… Joey'd probably knocked her over and caused her to smack her skull on something.

Maybe she and Yugi could go rollerblading today… it _was_ a weekend, wasn't it?

Warm breath blew on her back. She raised her hands to grip her pillow more tightly. "Leave me alone, mom," she groaned.

And then her memories started flooding back. She wasn't in Domino anymore… her parents were probably still back in Japan… rollerblading was a thing of the past… Joey was gone, and so was Yugi… There was no pillow…

And as for her head…

She slowly opened her eyes. She was lying amidst a pile of rocks and rubble. Oh no… what had happened?

She rolled over slowly, ignoring all the pangs in her body and how her joints protested. Good grief, she felt like an old lady. Everything ached.

One giant, golden eye glared down at her. She saw her own pale and battered reflection, warped by the rounded surface.

She froze. She couldn't move. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a few seconds she thought she would die of fright.

Ra pulled back, giving her a full view of his giant body. He roared, spreading his wings wide, and the whole ground quaked. Téa, too afraid to move, squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for it all to go away.

The ground continued shaking, and suddenly a gust of wind whipped around her body. She clenched her jaw and held her body rigid, ignoring the fervid blasts of air across her face. The wind was blowing at her back, lashing her hair forward and stinging her cheeks; it was rushing in towards Ra.

There was a final swirl of wind, and then things died down. Téa remained seated on the floor, her eyes closed against the nightmare outside of her. Only after there was a long period of silence and quiet, and Téa felt the sun upon her back, did she dare to peek again.

The roof was gone, but so was the rubble now. The wall of the tower had been completely peeled away, so she was sitting alone on a flat, unprotected surface. The Winged Dragon of Ra was gone.

Across from her stood a man, but unlike anyone she'd ever seen around Akuma. He was nearly eight feet tall, with bronzed skin, toned muscles, and a sharp gaze. He regarded her with a look that was merely curious, but the set of his face made it look like he was permanently glaring. His features were severe.

He was dressed in golden robes that fell in clean waves down his body. The only jewelry he wore was a small pendant around his neck. Téa's desperate gaze fell on it.

Two perfect, tiny wings, sculpted in gold and minute detail.

Her stare traveled up to meet his eyes again, and then she knew.

Gasping, Téa resisted the temptation to scramble backwards until she toppled from the precarious tower. She held her ground, though the world was swirling around in her head.

"Ra," she whispered.

The man grinned, showing unnaturally sharp teeth. And he nodded.

xXx

"Pegasus," Yami said, turning his sharp gaze to the other man. "You first awoke the Egyptian God Cards when you painted their likeness and created the Duel Monster Cards."

"You have to bring that up again?" Pegasus frowned. "I said I was sorry." Back in own his home again, Pegasus was visibly more relaxed.

"They had been entrapped in stone since the time of the ancient Pharaohs," Yami continued. "By an ancient magic long forgotten.

"As Pharaoh, I knew the secrets of Duel Monsters. I knew how to keep them imprisoned in another dimension, and how to seal them in rock tablets.

"I believe we can do the same with the Egyptian God Cards. Slifer and Obelisk are under our control, for the moment. We use the two of them, in combination with the Millennium Items, to imprison Ra; then recall Slifer and Obelisk to their cards and entrap them within the tablets as well."

There was silence for approximately two seconds. "_That's_ your plan?" Seto asked incredulously.

Like he'd flicked a switch, the room broke into a loud babble. Serenity winced and tried to slide under her seat, pressing her hands to her ears. Joey and Seto were engaged in a shouting match, with Yugi trying to calm them down and Mai trying to join. Tristan and Duke were talking fiercely, punctuating every point with an elaborate hand gesture. The rest of the group was either trying to make their own opinions heard or trying to quiet everyone else down by screaming for silence.

Yami, for his part, sat down quietly, rubbing his palm over the Millennium Puzzle, polishing it idly. After everyone wore their voices out, except for Seto and Joey, who were still going at it, Yami spoke again.

"If anyone has any better ideas, bring them to the table now."

Finally, some quiet. He managed to restrain himself from a triumphant smirk. "We've all seen the effects of magic in the last year. You've all seen the power it holds, and the endless possibilities that await us. I've been conversing with Shadi and Ishizu, and we think we know the appropriate spells to use."

"Well, I suppose that settles it, then," Seto said sarcastically. Someone kicked him under the table. He was annoyed that it could be anyone doing that, but had a sneaking suspicion it was Mai.

Shadi rose now, and like Yami he possessed a certain aura that made everyone else go quiet. "It would involve the power of all the Millennium Items, and a bearer for each one, to hold and focus its power." After that seemingly innocuous statement, he sank down serenely, leaving everyone staring with a blank face.

"That is why I must recreate the council of priests," Yami picked up. "In the shadow world back in Akuma, I received several quick flashes of my life in ancient Egypt. I have a vague idea of what the council _was_, but I also have a definite idea of what I want the council to _be_.

"Seto Kaiba, you first."

Seto clenched his teeth. "I knew this was coming," he muttered. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't believe in that reincarnation bull? I know who I am, and who I am is _now_."

"That's fine, since the Millennium Item I intended you to take is back in Akuma," Yami responded coolly. "You come along with just your deck. Should our plans work, you will be able to claim the Millennium Rod shortly before we confront Ra."

Seto opened his mouth to protest, but Yugi cut in. "If he wants to, I think you should let him stay at home," he said innocently.

"What?" Seto protested. "Stay _here_? Are you even more cracked up than your twin over there?"

"Then you'll come," Yami said positively, moving on. Seto slumped in his seat, glowering: For two people so whiny, he had the distinct feeling they played him as well as they supposedly played Duel Monsters.

"The Millennium Key and the Millennium Necklace," Yami said, refocusing his attention. "Shadi and Ishizu." He hesitated. "I… perhaps your ancestors were the bearers of these items. But these are new times. You have already told me you don't wish to come on this mission."

The two of them nodded, their hands folded in their laps. Ishizu's sharp eyes glanced around the table. Yami inhaled deeply.

"Whoa!"

"Hey!"

Joey and Mai both shot out of their seats. One second, they'd been watching the Millennium Items on the table; the next, the Necklace was affixed to Mai's neck and the Key was dangling from a cord around Joey's.

"I wish for the two of you to come along," Yami said, not sounding apologetic for the heart attack he'd nearly given them.

"I appreciate it," Joey grumbled, slowly sinking back into his chair. "Can you be a little more subtle next time, maybe?"

"The Ring will return to its owner."

Everyone glanced from Bakura to Ryou, unsure; but the Ring answered their questions when Ryou tentatively reached out a hand and it glowed.

"You want me to come along?" he asked nervously, his bangs falling in front of his eyes and casting shadows all over his face.

"If you wish," Yami said, for the first time sounding uncertain.

"No, I mean- I do. It's just- I wasn't expecting that. Um… yes," he said, blushing furiously. Seto rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, receiving another kick under the table. Scowling, he glanced around furiously, but couldn't find the culprit; he was going to bet that it was Bakura this time. Idiots.

The Eye, which had previously gone rolling across the table and stopped in front of Pegasus, reversed its tracks and slid back over to Bakura, landing in his lap. He glanced at it blankly for a while.

"Take it," Yami said coolly. "I wouldn't recommend wearing it, as that's supposed to be quite painful, but you may borrow its powers for the time."

"You trust me?" Bakura asked flatly, glancing up.

"I trust that you won't be foolish enough to make the same mistakes twice," Yami said, lifting his chin. "And I trust that you know the danger Ra poses to the world. And, inherently, you as well."

Bakura snorted. "You _are_ an idiot."

"Luckily for me, you're a greater one," Yami said sharply. "So I think I'll be able to keep an eye on you."

Bakura could have continued the argument, but everyone's attention had now quickly switched to the only remaining Millennium Item. The bulky Scales, that had saved Bakura once, sat precariously in the center of the table, the empty pans hanging in perfect balance.

Yugi was staring at Yami, his jaw firmly set. "I want to come," he announced firmly.

"What, like you're going to leave me with nothing?" Marik protested.

"You're not going anywhere," Malik muttered, elbowing his other half.

"Hey, I'd rather not just stay at home twiddling my thumbs either…" Duke spoke up tentatively.

"I think you're going to need some muscle on this thing," Tristan announced.

"Excuse me?" He received immediate glares from Joey, Seto, Bakura, and Mai.

"Yami, I'm _coming_," Yugi said sharply.

Pegasus snorted. "I don't know who would want to go on this suicide mission."

"Because better to go out there than stay in here and _wait_ for Ra to kill us," Geoff said sharply.

"I concur," Ezra announced for the record. "If you need me, I'll go."

"So will I," Geoff said firmly.

"_I'm_ going," Yugi insisted.

"Let's all go play with Ra!" Malik suggested, clapping his hands together.

"Tristan is right," Yami said, folding his arms and getting gawks from everyone around the table.

"What'd he say again?" Marik muttered.

"I need someone strong, with a mighty will," Yami proclaimed. "Someone loyal to the band, and with experience traveling through rough terrain."

"Yami, did you hear me?" Yugi demanded. "I am _going_ on this trip!"

"Um, what happened to the Scales?"

At Ezra's question, everyone automatically turned to the center of the table, where they had last seen the Scales. They were gone.

At the other end, Kimo rose shakily, clutching the missing Millennium Item. "It… would be my honor," he addressed Yami.

The rest of the group stared at him for a long moment, then broke out into noisy chatter. Yami shook his head, remaining obstinate even when Duke and Tristan addressed him with pleas. "Outdone by a spiky-haired freak?" Tristan complained, and Duke gave his hairdo a pointed look.

Yugi sat in his chair, arms crossed, glaring at Yami. He knew the other boy had noticed him, but Yami was refusing to acknowledge him. Yugi seethed, then abruptly stood up and stormed out of the room. He faltered slightly at the door, but continued on his way.

Yami closed his eyes briefly. "I'll go talk to him," he murmured, and exited the room. He too paused at the doorway, then glanced back at Seto. He rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, but moved onwards.

Pegasus had been quiet throughout the discussion. Now, he merely lifted an eyebrow at Kimo. Kimo bowed slightly: "With your permission, of course, sir."

"Oh heavens yes," Pegasus said airily. "Have a splendid time, and do try to come back alive."

xXx

Ezra found Mokuba sprawled on his stomach before a large fireplace on the second floor. "It's warm in here," Mokuba said by way of greeting. "At least in this room. The rest of the castle is freezing, even though it's hot outside. Why?"

Ezra shrugged, sitting on the floor next to him. Mokuba was playing with small stone blocks, building them into towers then knocking them down with a backhanded sweep. "I guess because it's made of stone," she said idly. "Stone holds the cold from the night, even when it's daytime. On the bright side, it'll be warmer at night, when it traps heat from the day."

"Oh." Mokuba continued building up the stone towers, scattering the blocks all over the floor.

"Do you need a summary of what happened, or were you listening at the door?" she asked.

"I snuck back down and listened at the door," Mokuba said without missing a beat. "Yugi and Yami both caught me, but they didn't say anything to Seto. I'll have to thank them later."

"There you are," Seto said from the doorway, and they both jumped guiltily. "Listen, Mokuba," he continued, striding into the room. "I'm leaving- I don't know when, but I hope it's soon."

Ezra snuck a peek at Mokuba. To his credit, he did a very surprised imitation. "You're leaving? Already? Where are you going?"

"Only God knows," Seto grumbled, then added as an afterthought, "And he's being awfully arrogant about it, spiky-haired freak that he is."

Ezra and Mokuba exchanged glances. "That's not very nice," Mokuba admonished.

"It's hard to be nice when your only plan is 'trap the giant God Card in a rock'," Seto countered.

"Do you think it'll work?" Ezra immediately asked.

Seto frowned. "Whether it works or not, I'm leaving with the rest of the idiots. Hopefully tomorrow. Mokuba, I need you to be safe. Promise me that you'll be safe."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't go jumping off any cliffs, Seto."

"Not good enough," his older brother replied, scowling. "Promise me you won't let anything hurt you!"

Mokuba stared at Seto for a moment, then leaned over and whispered in Ezra's ear, "Is he serious?"

"Why would Mokuba want to _let_ anything hurt him?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows.

Seto folded his arms and was about to reply, but shouts echoed up the stairwell. Footsteps came closer, a set of very vigorous stomps and a patter of running. "Someone's mad," Mokuba whispered.

"I've been through everything _you've_ been through," Yugi said angrily, entering the room and whirling around to face Yami. The Pharaoh entered the room soon after, a somber set to his face. "I have as much right to go as anybody! You can't tell me I have to stay home and do nothing!"

"Yugi, I know you want to help, but they need you here as well," Yami said pleadingly. "Believe me when I say I didn't leave you behind because I doubted your courage."

"You're not alone, Yugi," Mokuba added, scowling. "_I'd_ like to come too, you know."

"_No_," Seto and Yami chimed in unison, then glared at each other.

This could have gone very badly, but Pegasus chose that moment to poke his head through the doorway.

"Yoo-hoo," he said, grinning cheerfully and seemingly unperturbed by everyone's stormy face. "I've just led the others to the storage room. Do I have any other takers?"

"Storage room?" Yugi asked, his face still grumpy.

"My Duel Monsters cards," Pegasus responded.


	3. Chapter 3

Atakku

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Chapter 3

xXx

Téa took several deep, calming breaths. Over and over, she told herself, '_You'll be okay'_, reminding herself of everything she'd been through since the day Marik and Bakura took over the world. She was a strong person, and there wasn't anything she couldn't deal with. Even the fact that Ra had somehow been loosened into the world and assumed the shape of a man couldn't scare her.

Confidence renewed – or at least, she was able to maintain the image of it – Téa tried to figure out what Ra was doing. He was standing on the edge of the exposed floor, raising his hands toward the sun. The ground was scattered with rubble, and as Téa peered at it, bits of stone flew out from the rest and rose into the air.

No- wait! She sucked in a breath. That wasn't stone-

_Those were Duel Monsters cards_!

Téa realized what Ra was planning to do a split-second before his face broke out into a ferocious grin. The wind picked up again, and Téa hunkered down to protect her body. She peeked through the curtain over her hair to see the cards light up a brilliant white, and begin to take shape. They sailed out in every direction, sinking down into the sand once they'd found their place.

Téa could barely see the Duel Monsters emerge in the distance, before something startling happened. A mountain spurted out of the ground, and undergrowth rapidly overtook it. A huge pool of water formed to the west, and it started raining to the north.

_What the…?_

Her eyes suddenly widened in understanding. Ra had picked up _all_ the cards in the area, most likely left over from the fleeing or dead Rare Hunters. That included the magic and trap cards! And the scenery changes in the area were most likely from the field card, like Umi or Mountain or Sogen!

"You're turning all the cards real!" she whispered. "Like when the others Summoned the Monsters, only this is permanent! And it's covering the whole world!"

xXx

The room was filled with haphazard stacks of Duel Monster cards, not arranged in any particular order. This made it nearly impossible to find any particular card, but that was compensated by the treasures that could be discovered merely by sifting through any one pile. When one entered the room, the walls were hardly visible and the floor was a narrow pathway between shelves and more stacks. The storage area had a faint musty order, and the thin layer of dust especially in the back corners let the observer know that this room hadn't been used, and the precious store of monsters unaccessed, in several long years.

Until now, anyway.

"Lots of Toons," Pegasus said happily, throwing cards over his shoulder and letting Kimo catch them as best he could. "Lots and lots of adorable little Monster-wonsters!"

"Please," Seto said, rolling his eyes and yanking a Toon Blue-Eyes out of Kimo's hand. "You're going to need some _real_ cards on this trip."

"Try this," Yami said, pulling a Shadi and appearing from seemingly nowhere, placidly placing Celtic Guardian in Kimo's arms.

"I'd go with these babies," Joey said helpfully, dumping an armload of cards in front of Kimo's feet.

"Try some girl power," Mai suggested coolly, flipping a Dark Witch over.

"I can't believe you've never had your own deck before," Tristan said, while chucking card after card in Kimo's general direction.

"You should take this one, and this one, and this one, and that one," Malik chanted, happily throwing cards at Kimo until he was nearly buried in a pile.

"I like this one, and this one, and this one," Marik snickered, grabbing a few cards for himself.

"You'll give this one back, and this one back, and this one back," Bakura said sharply, yanking the cards away and throwing them at Kimo.

"Oh, look who's Pharaoh's new water-boy," Marik said, rolling his eyes at his one-time partner in crime.

"What?" Bakura snapped.

"You heard me. He picks you to go on some special mission with him, and suddenly you're licking his boots," Marik sneered.

"That's not true," Malik admonished. "Pharaoh wears sandals."

"Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean I should follow _you_ everywhere," Bakura snarled. "Look around you- we're surrounded by goody-goodies. Do you really think it's a good idea to be stealing Duel Monsters cards when everyone already doesn't trust you?"

Marik and Bakura continued snipping back and forth. On the roof, Ishizu and Shadi conversed quietly. "It's almost freeing, in a way," Ishizu said, rubbing her neck. "I feel as though a great weight has been lifted off me. Yet at the same time… I feel empty."

"I know how you feel," Shadi responded. "And I can say that for sure. Only another Millennium Item holder can understand the sudden loss of power."

Ishizu let out a distracted sigh, then sunk down to the ground and sat cross-legged. The wind fluttered by, gently lifting her sheet of black hair. The roof of the castle was one broad expanse of cold grey stone, broken only occasionally by turrets protruding from the building and a low wall surrounding the edges. Beyond the walls, the edge of the Nile was visible, quickly giving way to rich soil and then endless miles of sands. Squinting into the distance, Ishizu tried to pick out the path that their group had approached by, but it was impossible; everything looked the same.

Shadi stirred beside her, and she glanced up quickly, but he was gazing in the opposite direction. "Sunset," he remarked quietly. She turned around to see the sun just hitting the horizon, sending streams of red and blue everywhere across the cloudless sky.

"It's lovely. And see." She pointed back the way she'd been looking. "It's a full moon tonight." The moon, startlingly white and large, loomed in the sky, nearly close enough to touch. Ishizu tilted her face toward it, feeling the faint pulsing of ancient magic.

Shadi hesitated, wanting to say something more. But he couldn't bring the right words to his lips. He was partly grateful when Mokuba's black mane of hair and wide-eyed face poked up from the stairway that led from the main castle. "Hey, I found it!"

"You're right, this is a much better view," Ezra said admiringly, following him up the stairs. "Wow. Look how huge the sun is."

"The moon, too," Ishizu said.

Both newcomers turned to face her. "Oh, hello," Ezra greeted, taking a seat as well. Mokuba trotted close to the wall. "Watch out, Mokuba," Ezra warned. "Your brother will have my head if you fall."

"Naah, I don't think so," Mokuba said dismissively. "But I won't fall, don't worry. I just want a closer look at the sunset."

"Well, be careful." She propped her chin in her hands. "I don't think we've really been introduced. I'm Ezra."

"I am Ishizu," the woman said, resting her chin in her cupped hands as well. "This is Shadi. Pleased to meet you, Ezra."

"Same," she responded, turning around. "Wow- you were right about the moon."

Mokuba heard them and spun as well. "It's full," he said in a surprised voice.

"Yes, it's full," Ishizu answered. "See how beautiful it looks?"

"Yeah, it's real nice," Mokuba said doubtfully. "But it's _full_. We just had a full moon last week."

Ezra and Ishizu exchanged glances. Shadi's shoulders tensed. "The boy is right," he said slowly.

"That moon is a fraud!" Mokuba declared dramatically, pointing across the horizon. "_There's_ the real moon!"

"What on earth?" Ezra asked, scrambling to her feet. Sure enough, thirty degrees to the left, the real moon was peeking over the desert sand, clearly visible in its half-moon stage and sending silver beams reflecting across the sand. Both moons stood out starkly against the dusky blue sky.

The door below flew open, and running footsteps pounded on the stone. Yami came into view, followed by Seto, who immediately sought out his little brother.

"Mokuba, get away from the edge!" he said immediately, his voice betraying a hint of worry. Mokuba shrugged, and went to stand by his brother.

"Seto, what's going on?" he asked bluntly. "There's two moons, and one of them is full."

"I _thought_ I felt something," Yami said grimly. "That's no moon. That's a Full Moon."

Mokuba rolled his eyes at Seto, expecting his older brother to laugh along with him. But Seto's eyes widened in shock as he glanced at the duplicate. "What's going on?" Mokuba whispered. "What's the difference?"

"Full Moon is a Duel Monsters card," Seto said grimly. "Someone just Summoned that."

"Oh-my-god!"

The shriek came from below, drifting out an open window somewhere. "That was Mai," Yami said, alarmed.

"Look out the window!" another voice yelped.

"Joey," Yami murmured. "But nothing seems to be wrong with them. They must be seeing the moon."

"Or _that_," Ezra said bluntly.

All eyes turned to the horizon. Under the Full Moon, a dark mass was growing, spreading across the once-sandy ground and creeping toward them.

"This doesn't feel good," Mokuba said, grabbing onto Seto's hand.

"It feels like magic," Yami said, folding his arms and staring at the darkness. "That's why I came running up here."

"And it smells like trouble, which is why I followed," Seto said through clenched teeth. "If you're so smart, Yami, what's going on here?!"

"Someone is Summoning cards," Yami repeated. "And I think I know who."

"Those are coming from Akuma," Ishizu realized.

"But who's back there?" Mokuba wondered aloud.

It was Shadi who answered the growing dread in the back of their minds. "Ra."

xXx

"This isn't good."

"Do you really think so?" Weevil asked wearily. "Why does everything always happen to _us_?"

"Because we're not very bright," Rex theorized aloud, earning a glare from his friend.

"I mean, my plans to get Yami in our debt were ruined," he complained. "And then we got knocked out by those Rare Hunters, and woke up to find the world falling to pieces."

"We escape into the desert," Rex grumbled, getting into the act, "only to have the sand suddenly turn to grass under our feet!"

"That's not a _bad_ thing," Weevil said sourly. "Grass is a lot more pleasant."

"And that stupid mountain just sprouted up in the north," Rex continued, kicking at a clump of grass. "Something weird is going on."

"I think they're field cards," Weevil said, crossing his arms. "Like, what we're standing on is Sogen. For some reason, all the Duel Monsters cards are coming to life."

"Except we can't Summon anymore!" Rex exclaimed.

"I can so," Weevil corrected, scowling. "It's just a lot harder. I think it has something to do with the Millennium Items."

"Whatever," Rex groaned. "The point is… everything is unfair!"

Weevil snorted.

"Hey, you guys!"

The both of them snapped their heads up. Across the meadow, in the growing dark, a boy waved frantically at them. He ran up, and as he got closer into view they could see who it was.

"Espa Roba," Rex groaned again. "Just great. He beat me in Battle City, you know."

"I didn't know, but I'm not surprised," Weevil sneered back.

Rex made a face at him. "Jerk."

"Idiot," Weevil countered sullenly, at a lack for a better insult.

"Hey!" Espa pulled up in front of them, glancing eagerly back and forth. "What're you guys doing here?"

"Nursing our multiple injuries," Rex answered honestly, earning an elbow in the ribs from Weevil.

"We left Akuma when that golden ball appeared in the sky and Ra popped out," Weevil said, screwing his face up. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I left Akuma about a week or two ago," Espa answered. "I was looking for my little brothers, but then all _this_ happened." He gestured randomly around them.

"Oh." The three of them looked or scowled at each other awkwardly, not sure of what to say. In the uncomfortable silence, a faint buzzing drifted towards their ears.

"Uhh, do you hear that?" Rex finally asked.

"Yeah…" Espa said slowly, looking around. "What is it?"

The tall grass, sprouting knee-high, bent over in the wind, but there was a larger disturbance about fifty yards to the right. As the boys eyed it with trepidation, the buzzing reached maximum levels and something shot up from the grass.

Rex let out an involuntary yelp. Two red eyes glared out, showing starkly against the blue sky; a dark green and brown body hovered, supported by huge, fast beating wings and bearing menacing pincers.

"Insect Soldier of the Sky!" Weevil realized at once.

"You like bugs, right?" Espa asked shakily.

"Maybe while we run, you can stay behind and deal with it," Rex suggested, backing up.

"Forget that and just RUN!" Weevil yelped, turning tail and fleeing. Rex and Espa started dashing after him, closely followed by the buzzing Insect Soldier.

"Can't you Summon anything?" Rex moaned.

"Not any more than you," Weevil shot back, his short legs churning.

"Quiet and ruuuuun!" Espa wailed.

They dashed through the tall grass, thankfully staying just ahead of the Insect Soldier and managing not to fall flat on their face. They passed by countless Duel Monsters, and the sun set further, darkening the world around them. For some reason, Insect Soldier stayed on their tails, until just before Weevil collapsed from exhaustion they burst out of the grassy meadow and skidded on the sudden dirt, falling one by one in the dust or on top of each other.

Insect Soldier fluttered angrily at the border of the meadow, dashing back and forth, but unwilling to cross the borders of its territory. "Back up slowly," Espa panted, and they crawled further into the wasteland.

"I think we're safe," Rex choked out.

"Yeah. Sure. What else do you think lives _here_?" Weevil said laboriously, taking in great gulps of air. "I almost liked the old world better. You know, the one ruled by a pair of psychos. At least you could sort of predict what Marik and Bakura would do."

"I think both worlds stink," Espa offered, lying on his back and shutting his eyes. "And I also think we're in big trouble."

xXx

The second time the world started to shake, Aura and Mako were even more wary than before. Aura immediately began scanning the sky, looking for the same ball of light that had appeared the last time. "Do you see anything?" Mako asked, shielding his eyes as well.

"No, but…" Aura's voice trailed off. The sand had been consistent under her feet so far; hot and grainy and yielding. But the temperature was dropping quickly, and the sand seemed to be slipping away. She glanced down just before the ground broke beneath their feet, and water came gushing up. Mako cried out sharply, just before he was washed away in the rapidly-emerging sea. He had time to spit out one word: "_Umi_!", and then the waters swallowed him whole.


	4. Chapter 4

Atakku

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Chapter 4

xXx

"Your fault."

"Yours!"

"Your fault, dino-lover."

"Liking dinosaurs has nothing to do with us being chased by one."

"Still your fault."

"Will you two cut it out?" Espa interjected grumpily.

"No!" Weevil and Rex shot back at the same time. They both glared in the general direction his voice came from, then at each other, although it was too dark to tell.

The three boys were currently huddled in a half-rotted log. The tree it had come from must have been huge, for all three teenagers could sit upright. Then again, as Rex pointed out, they were pretty short (Weevil had sacked him for that one).

The log had rotted away at the center. As Weevil, Rex, and Espa charged by, Espa grabbed their shirt sleeves and pulled them inside. Why had they been running in the first place?

"First we get chased by that Insect Soldier, then Two-Headed King Rex tries to eat us," Rex sighed. "And King Rex is my namesake and everything."

"No wonder its breath smelled so bad," Weevil said nastily.

"Hey! No fair! I haven't had toothpaste in like a year!"

"That's disgusting."

"When was the last time _you_ brushed your teeth?" Rex snapped.

"You have no common sense. You do know that you can use extracts from certain plants as cleaners, right?"

"And where was I supposed to find these plants? While huddling under this stupid log?" Rex scowled.

"Right, because you've been under here for the last twelve months," Weevil sneered.

"You guys? Your constant squabbling really isn't going to make this much more of a pleasant stay," Espa sighed. "Can we please be quiet for a while?"

"Fine by me," Weevil sniffed, turning his nose up. A bit more of the 'roof' came loose and trickled down on his face.

Rex huffed and leaned back against the damp wall. Weevil had snidely informed them earlier that the landscape they were currently in was the field card Wasteland, to which he snapped that he obviously knew. Wasteland was about as nice as it sounded: miles upon miles of barren dirt, ranging from slightly damp and disgusting to incredible dry and dusty. Every once in a while, they'd come across a pile of bones- approaching it, the bones stood up and looked at them curiously. Not realizing at first that it was Mammoth Graveyard, although Weevil had once faced it against Yugi, they all screamed and clutched onto one another.

That had set off yet another round of feuding.

Mammoth Graveyard had ambled off, deciding that they weren't worth eating. While Weevil and Rex snapped at each other, and shoved each other around, Espa watched the bleached bones creak and groan in their sockets with horrified fascination.

That had been the end of their luck: The ground started shaking ominously in an even rhythm; something was approaching. They were frozen in fear until a head appeared over the horizon. Then a second, identical head appeared beside it. Rex had cried, "Two-Headed King Rex!", and the Duel Monster had stopped and looked at them. King Rex opened its mouth (the one on the right), revealing several rows of sharp, long teeth.

Weevil turned and ran.

The Monster opened its other mouth (the one on the left) and roared.

Espa turned and ran after Weevil.

Rex followed them when it became apparent his once-friend really just wanted to eat them now. The three boys had dashed far enough ahead of King Rex to duck into this crumbling log without being seen. Two-Headed King Rex had stomped by, and they settled back in relief and trepidation to give their bodies a rest.

And of course, they argued.

"Why haven't we seen any other people?" Rex wondered, breaking the silence.

"It's a good question," Espa said slowly, interrupting Weevil who had been about to snap back a rude reply.

"I suppose…" Weevil admitted grudgingly, after he'd thought about it a while. "Everyone else must be gathered somewhere else."

"The change in scenery wouldn't have scattered the people," Espa said, getting excited. "Right? Even if a forest sprouted under their feet, everyone's houses would still be near each other. So maybe there are communities of people still sticking together!"

"If we find one, maybe we can finally settle down and stop getting chased by everything!" Rex said hopefully. "What do you think, Weevil?"

"I think we'd better find one, fast," Weevil said grouchily. "Is it safe to go out yet?"

Espa peeked through a portion of the log that had rotted out. Everything outside looked still. "I think so. Ready to make a run for it?"

"I think I'm ready for anything. Nothing can be worse than those stupid Duel Monsters chasing us," Rex groused.

"Okay. Go!" Espa scrambled out of one end. He crawled out, stumbled to his feet, and abruptly stopped. Weevil and Rex plowed into his back, nearly knocking him over.

And Mystical Elf eyed them curiously.

xXx

The water lay still where Umi had erupted. Duel Monsters swam back and forth under the water, but nothing broke the surface. A Shining Friendship fluttered to the shore and dipped its small head, drinking carefully and sending out tiny ripples. The sun shone across the newly formed lake, sending beams darting back and forth and casting a perfect reflection on the glossy surface of the water.

The water was warm and comforting. Shining Friendship eventually jumped in and started playing in the shallows. No seaweed tugged at its wingtips; the bottom was smooth and sandy.

In the middle of the lake, two human figures hovered. They weren't moving; they weren't breathing. But they weren't dead. From above, a golden light pierced through the surface and was visible from above. Floating in the waters of Umi, surrounding the two humans, were golden swords standing out starkly from the dark blue water.

The Swords of Revealing Light were holding them in balance, stopping time with their ancient magic. A Rainbow Fish swam near the swords, but was blocked from coming closer. Twisting its huge and powerful body, Rainbow Fish darted away. And the Swords continued to hover, waiting.

xXx

"This suddenly got a whole lot scarier," Joey mumbled, hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders and gulping.

"Speak for yourself," Seto responded, scooping up his own backpack.

"Don't worry, I am," Joey shot back. "I forgot that not even random Duel Monster Cards sprouting up out of nowhere doesn't scare _you_, Kaiba. Did it occur to you that if the field cards have taken over, the Monsters are probably out there somewhere?"

"Of course it occurred to me," Seto scowled. "Don't worry, Wheeler. Getting through the Monsters will be the _easy_ part. If you can't survive that, I'd hate to be working with you against Ra."

"If it helps, I'll hate to be working with you too." Joey clenched his fists.

"Joey, stop that!" Mai said angrily. "Are you looking for a fight?"

"Mai's right, big brother," Serenity said softly. "You guys will have to work together if you want to win."

Some of Joey's anger faded, and he hunched his shoulders. "Aw, he's not worth it," he muttered, pawing at the stone with his foot.

"That's the spirit," Mai said encouragingly. Seto snorted and stomped to the other side of the room. "Just ignore him."

"Please don't get into any fights while you're gone," Serenity begged. "For me?"

"Don't worry, Serenity, I'll keep him in line," Mai winked.

"What am I, your dog?" Joey muttered.

"Yes."

Yugi and Yami came down the stairs, emerging in the large foyer where everyone else was gathered. "Are we ready to go?" Bakura asked impatiently. He and Ryou were standing slightly apart. The Millennium Ring was back around Ryou's neck, and he looked visibly more relaxed, even considering the dangerous mission he was about to embark on; Bakura was carrying the Millennium Eye in a side pocket.

"Everyone has their packs?" Yami asked soberly.

"Check," Mai called out. The Millennium Necklace was around her throat, and she seemed faintly uncomfortable having it there. Ishizu, on the other hand, standing with her two present siblings, looked relieved.

"Check," Joey added; the Key hung from his neck by a rope cord similar to Ryou's. He still shifted nervously, but was quickly growing accustomed to its presence.

"Check," Ryou chimed in, and Bakura grumbled the same.

"Check." Kimo had stored the Scales in his pack, along with his new deck and supplies for the journey.

Seto sighed. "Check. Let's move out." Mokuba flung his arms around his older brother, clutching onto him dearly. The rest of the crowd stood back as the seven Millennium Item bearers slowly filed out the doorway, Yami bringing up the lead.

"This should be interesting," Mai said, staring across the river. There was a good stretch of the Nile to cover, and then a forest took over at the boundaries. At least it appeared less dangerous now than it had during the night, where she could have sworn she'd seen red eyes glaring back at her and eerie music drifting through the still air.

"Let's just get across the river," Joey said, running a hand through his hair. "Whose job is it to bring us across?"

"I'll do it," Kimo volunteered boldly. "Mister Pegasus gave me his Skull Mariner card."

Ryou and Joey looked at each other and shrugged. "What are we waiting for?" Joey voiced. "Let's get this party moving."

Good-byes had already been exchanged the previous night, along with some tears. No one looked back now, not even Seto… although he'd slipped a note under Mokuba's pillow earlier that afternoon. They watched emotionlessly as Kimo Summoned Skull Mariner, and the seven of them climbed on board one by one. Serenity grabbed Yugi's hand for emotional support. For his part, Yugi's brow was creased, watching Yami leave without him and recalling a conversation they'd had late last night.

"_For the last time, Yami. I want to come with you."_

"_And for the final time, Yugi… this is not your battle. You've fought during your place, your time. This is no longer it; you're needed here."_

"_And _you_ don't need me, I suppose?"_

"_Please don't make me feel more guilty than I already do. Destiny has woven this course for us; fate has dictated that our paths must split. You've done your part. Stay here and watch over the others."_

"_I'm going to stop arguing with you, because I know it'll get me nowhere. But that won't change how I feel about this."_

"_I know, Yugi. I know."_

"Tally-ho!" Joey cried as Skull Mariner started drifting away. He and Mai leaned over the edge and waved frantically. Yami had seemingly disappeared, and Seto stood at the other end of the ship, glancing back and lifting a hand in a private farewell to Mokuba. Ezra stood behind him, deep in thought, and absently squeezing Mokuba's shoulder, trying to reassure him. Kimo steered the ship, and Ryou and Bakura watched the disappearing crowd with little emotion, waving a little.

A cold wind whipped by, but the ones remaining behind stayed outside, huddled together, until the boat reached the opposite shore. Skull Mariner disappeared abruptly, and all anyone could see were seven tiny figures, entering the forest. Yugi shivered suddenly, and the leaves on the trees rattled ominously, and then quiet fell. Ishizu and Shadi slipped back up to the castle, but it was another fifteen minutes before anyone else moved.

"Who wants cookies?" Pegasus asked cheerfully, clapping his hands together.

"Ooh! I do!" Malik volunteered.

"Who'll make them?" Tristan wondered aloud. "Croquet? One of the other servants?"

"Don't be silly, Tristan-boy!" Pegasus grinned. "_I_ will, of course! Who's with me?"

"Do you want to help, Mokuba?" Ezra asked, nudging him out of his trance. "It'll be good for you to get your mind off Seto."

Mokuba gave her a doubtful look. "With _Pegasus_?"

She shrugged and smiled. "Like I said. It'll be distracting, at the very least."

"…Okay…" Mokuba sighed, and his hand was abruptly snatched up.

"Wonderful!" Pegasus cried, pulling Mokuba up to the castle. "All aboard!"

Tristan gave Duke a doubtful look. "Is it too late to leave with Yami and the others?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Duke sighed.

"Let's help them," Serenity whispered to Yugi. He looked over at her slowly, pulling himself together.

"Okay," he said, starting to smile. Some of his eternal sunshine was being restored. "Yeah. Let's do it."

xXx

Ezra was wandering around the empty hallways of the castle, looking for something interesting. A library, perhaps. There were a lot of long days ahead and she wanted something to occupy herself, and maybe find a game for Mokuba. As she passed down a vaguely familiar hall, she noticed a light was on in one of the rooms. She gently shoved the doorway open to find Geoff sitting alone in the storage room, amidst piles of Duel Monster cards, all the torches on the wall lit.

"Hey. What's up?" she asked uncertainly. "What are you doing in here?"

Geoff's head was bent down, and his straight brown hair was falling over his eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you I had a sister?"

"Yes," she said, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Kaya, right?"

Geoff nodded. "She died back in Akuma." Then he fell silent. Ezra was just wondering if she should go get someone- maybe he needed help- before he lifted his head again, holding something in the air in front of him. She glanced at it briefly; it was a Duel Monsters card, then focused back on his face. Geoff's eyes were wide and full of confusion. "What do you think… of this?"

She did a double-take at the card he was holding aloft.

_Monster Reborn…_


	5. Chapter 5

Atakku

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Notes: In reply to a review, to find out what happened to Grandpa, either read the sidestory Umi or wait a few chapters. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback. (Some of you predicted doom, others had faith in me. Which will it be? Read this - relatively long - chapter!)

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Chapter 5

xXx

"Mokuba! Catch!"

"Huh?" Mokuba looked up just in time to see the bag of flour approaching his face. He ducked, but not enough; it hit his head and exploded all over his black hair.

"Oops," Pegasus said, sounding suspiciously happy. "That's okay! I have another one!"

"Ah, Mokuba?" Yugi asked cautiously, approaching the white cloud that the boy was probably somewhere under. "Are you okay?"

His only answer was coughing and spluttering. Slowly, the flour settled, revealing a very cross, very short, very white and powdery Mokuba Kaiba.

"Gee, we have to get you cleaned up-" Yugi began.

"Yugi! Catch!"

"Huh?" Yugi looked over just in time to get smacked by a second bag of flour. After a few seconds of chaos, only two large purple eyes blinked out from the messy white pile.

"Oops," Pegasus pouted. "Oh well! I have another one!"

"What happened here?" Serenity asked in alarm, entering the kitchen with a giant bag of sugar clasped in her arms.

"I think Pegasus is crazy," Mokuba sighed, shaking his head and scattering flour everywhere. Serenity sidestepped it, nearly dropping the sugar.

"And why is the floor slippery?" she questioned, catching her balance.

"Tristan had a little accident with the butter," Yugi said grimly. "He and Malik went to find a broom."

"A _broom_?"

"Yeah."

Serenity sighed and shook her head. "Do they mean a mop?"

"Oh…" Yugi said uncertainly. "Well, they probably _need_ a mop, but they're getting a broom."

"Triumph!" Malik cried, trying to walk through the doorway with the broom held aloft. The edges promptly caught on the door and he fell on his rear. "Ow…" he moaned.

"Tristan, you need a mop to clean that mess," Yugi called into the hall, getting a disgruntled sigh in return.

"Oh… yes… be right back!"

In one corner, Marik was entertaining himself by cracking eggs into a bowl.

"Dude, how many of those will we _need_?" Duke asked, frowning into the pile. "And aren't you supposed to keep the shells separate?"

"Silence, minion!" Marik sneered, waving an egg around menacingly. It cracked in his fist and yolk trickled down.

"Sure," Duke said, making a face and edging away.

"Where are the others?" Serenity asked Yugi, depositing the sugar on the counter, where it was promptly snatched up by a grinning Pegasus.

"I wish you hadn't let him near that," Mokuba muttered.

"Ishizu and Shadi are hiding from us," Yugi admitted. "Pegasus asked them if they wanted to make cookies, and Shadi asked him if he wanted another eye removed. And then he and Ishizu disappeared."

"They're probably predicting the end of the world while sitting on the roof," Duke said grumpily, brushing batter off his shirt sleeve and making a face when he found bits of egg in his hair. "Do you know how long it's going to take to get that out?"

"I wish Seto were here," Mokuba said threateningly, snatching up a spoon and waving it around. "He'd teach Pegasus a thing or two…"

"Good idea, Mokuba!" Pegasus said happily, grabbing a spoon as well and helping himself to some of the uncooked batter. "Mmm…"

"You were sane just last month," Mokuba said, frowning at him. "What happened?"

Pegasus blinked at Mokuba, who was still covered in powder. "Sane? Me?"

"Oh, it's no good," Mokuba muttered, turning away and making a face.

"Have some batter," Pegasus urged.

Sighing, Mokuba tossed the spoon over his shoulder and scooped a finger through it. "Yummy…" he admitted, licking the batter off.

Yugi rubbed the powder off his nose, sneezing and sending out a small white cloud. Serenity giggled. "Cheer up, guys," she urged, looking around at all the grumpy males. "Don't you see what he's doing?"

"I thought he was just being himself," Tristan said, entering the room with a mop and stopping short at the sight of the mess. He promptly handed the mop to Duke, who gave him a dirty look.

"No," she grinned, ruffling Mokuba's hair in a half-hearted attempt to get the flour out. "He's taking your minds off the others. See? He's being as wild and crazy as possible so we won't be focusing on Yami and Joey and Mai and the rest."

"That's nuts," Tristan said, his jaw hinging open.

"It's working, isn't it?" Marik asked cheerfully, abandoning the bowl of eggs.

"Since when were you a big advocate of Pegasus?" Tristan asked suspiciously.

Marik leered at him, leaning in close with one red-tinged eye. "I _do_ crazy, remember?" When Tristan jumped several feet backwards, Marik started laughing a hysterical, creepy laughter.

"C'mon," Malik said, grabbing Marik by the cape and dragging him out of the kitchen. "Ishizu said she wanted to talk with us when we were done making cookies."

"Leggo o'me or I'll decapitate you!" Marik hollered as the two of them disappeared down the hall.

"I think they're getting to be great friends," Mokuba said brightly, reaching over for more dough, but Duke was in the middle of whisking it away.

"One more fingerful, Mokuba Kaiba," he said, glaring sternly. "Then we have to _bake_ this."

"Yes, mom," Mokuba muttered, making sure he got a _lot_.

xXx

Yugi, Mokuba, Serenity, Tristan, and Duke went and cleaned up while Pegasus took care of the kitchen with Croquet. When they entered the living room, Pegasus was standing in the center of the floor, holding the plate of fresh cookies and beaming.

He was also wearing an apron, but everyone except Duke ignored that. "Wait a second, if we'd had those before, I wouldn't have gotten so dirty!" he complained. "Hey, did you have any hairnets?"

"But of course," Pegasus said smoothly, reaching into the front pocket and handing Duke one. The lanky boy took it and stared at it a while.

"But I don't need it _now_," he started to say, but everyone was pushing past him, reaching for the cookies.

"Shouldn't we get Malik and Marik?" Serenity asked doubtfully, looking around.

"Eh, let 'em fend for themselves," Tristan said, reaching right over Yugi and Mokuba's heads.

"Won't they try and kill you if they knew you said that?" Mokuba asked, smacking Tristan's hand away. "Wait your turn!"

"Yes, mom," Duke mimicked back at him.

"Wasn't talking to you," Mokuba shot back.

"Oh? Take this!" Duke pounced on him and started tickling Mokuba, sending him shrieking in laughter to the floor.

"They're all nuts," Yugi mumbled to Serenity.

"Can you blame them?" she asked, grinning. "We've had a stressful few weeks. We're finally getting a chance to let loose."

"Either that, or we've all finally cracked," Yugi said doubtfully, but began to smile as well. Mokuba's hand snaked out and grabbed his ankle, yanking hard and sending Yugi to the ground. "Whoa!" he yelped.

At this point, Ezra and Geoff walked in. The giggling and squirming and tickling slowly died down as everyone took in the somberness of their faces and the stark whiteness of Geoff's countenance. "What happened?" Tristan asked nervously.

"I…" Geoff hesitated, casting his gaze away. "I was going through the spare cards and I found _this_." He held up Monster Reborn, and six jaws hit the floor at once.

"Aw, man," Tristan said, collecting himself first. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Cecelia…" Pegasus whispered, the plate of cookies slipping from his lifeless hands and clattering onto Duke's shoulder. Stumbling, Duke caught an armful and placed them on the tray gently, climbing to his feet with a ghostly white face.

"You want to bring back your sister?" Serenity asked uncertainly.

"Cecelia," Pegasus said again, urgently.

"Oh God…" Serenity said, the full implications of the card hitting her head-on.

"Wait," Yugi said urgently. "We have to think about this first."

"Do you realize what this means?" Duke demanded. "You can bring back the dead!"

"Yeah, but would it work on _people_?" Tristan asked.

"Why not?" Duke argued. "Didn't Joey use that Fairy Box to protect him and Ryou?"

"That's different," Tristan pointed out.

"But you can't just give up," Duke said, folding his arms. "You have to at least _try_."

"What if it doesn't work?" Serenity's voice quivered slightly.

"What could go wrong?" Duke asked rhetorically.

"Lots of things," Yugi answered.

"Like what?"

"I don't know," Yugi said, upset. He absently tugged on his bangs, twisting his mouth unhappily. "I just don't know, but it doesn't feel right to me."

"Yugi, but you have to look at all sides of the issue," Duke urged. "Cecelia could be revived! That girl Kaya could be woken again! These are people who died before their time was up. They can get a second chance. We use the _other_ cards for our own purposes. Why shouldn't we use this? Think of the possibilities!"

"I'm scared," Serenity stated for the record. "This whole idea scares me."

"I think I'm with you on that one," Tristan said dejectedly. "But I also agree with Devlin. Maybe we do need to give this a try."

"Maybe," Yugi said in a tiny voice. "If it means doing some good, maybe we should try. But I don't think…" he cleared his throat. "We should try it on something else."

"Huh?" Tristan asked blankly.

"Like what?" Duke wondered, realizing what Yugi meant. "Maybe kill a spider or something?"

"Why do we need to try it first?" Geoff interjected.

"Because we don't know what will happen," Mokuba spoke up. "They're not sure if everything will go smoothly, so better to check and make sure things are okay first."

"Makes sense," Geoff acknowledged.

"Soo… what do we do?" Tristan asked bluntly.

Yugi responded softly. "The All-Seeing White Tiger."

"Huh?" Tristan asked again, and this time Duke echoed him.

Yugi's eyes were closed. "It's something I got… from Yami. A memory. We still share some of our thoughts."

"Hey! So you can tell how he's doing on this journey?" Serenity interrupted excitedly, getting off topic.

"Maybe." Yugi opened his eyes a little. "Only when he feels something really strong."

"And what did you get about the All-Seeing White Tiger?" Duke cut in again.

_All the debris from the mirror had exploded outward. The tiger lay on the ground. With obvious effort, it lifted its head to glare into Yami's eyes. Pieces of glass were sticking out of its fur at odd angles and blood was starting to leak though_.

"It's a Duel Monster that died in a battle," Yugi whispered. "Yami felt really bad when it was killed."

Tristan let out a low whistle. "Okay then. Man… when should we do this?"

Yugi looked around uncertainly. "Now?"

"Yeah. It just seems so eerie," Tristan confirmed. "What are we doing here? We're playing with life and death. It's spooky, unnatural."

"Let's go," Geoff said suddenly. Pegasus had retreated to a couch, and out of the conversation, but was watching the drama unfold with an intense look in his eyes. His thoughts still hovered around his wife. _Can it be…?_

"Mokuba, come here," Ezra whispered. She'd backed up near the door, and now she beckoned to the youngest one in the room. Mokuba walked over obediently enough. "What's the matter?" he whispered back.

"Nothing," she replied quietly. "Nothing yet. But just stay near the door, all right? In case we need to leave quickly."

"You think something's going to go wrong?" he asked doubtfully.

Ezra blew out a breath. "I don't know _what's_ going to happen," she replied honestly. "Just do me this favor."

"Sure," Mokuba said immediately, grabbing her hand.

Serenity nervously joined Pegasus on the couch, perching on the edge tensely. Duke, Tristan, and Geoff backed a safe distance away from Yugi. As for the short duelist, he stood alone in the center of the room, eyes half-shut, pulling up memories and strands of power. He felt the familiar tugging, and focused on the card in his hand. The card suddenly glowed white.

"_Monster Reborn_," Yugi called, almost by instinct. In front of him, the ground suddenly warped, surging in on itself. A black whirlpool was born from the swirling of the floor, and quickly grew larger. His shoulders suddenly tensed as a corporeal form emerged from the vortex. At first, it just appeared to be a dark mess; then the shadows slowly began dripping off it. The creature emerged, and the blackness retracted in on itself as quickly as it had formed. The Monster stood alone, looking around slowly. Yugi backed away, his eyes huge and his legs trembling.

Serenity was the first one to scream.

It was All-Seeing White Tiger, at least that much was clear.

Or at least, it _used _to be.

"Out," Ezra said immediately, shoving the door open. Mokuba didn't need to be told twice; he barely even needed to be told once. He had already turned toward the doorway, his face fast turning a sickly green.

As Mokuba scampered out of the room, Ezra held the door open. "Come on!" she urged everyone else, but the movement had caught the Tiger's attention.

Horrible empty eye sockets turned her way. The Tiger's fur was mostly gone; the bit that remained was spotted with blood and bits of glass. Its flesh was rotting, peeling away in chunks, revealing shriveled organs and blackened innards. Worst of all was the stench; the smell of death was permeating the room, causing Yugi to choke and Serenity's eyes to water.

"Oh my God," Pegasus said, mostly paralyzed. "What have we done?"

"We brought it back from the graveyard," Tristan whispered, afraid to attract the Tiger's attention. "But you can't change the fact that it's dead."

"Get _out_ of there!" Ezra's voice cut into their haze.

"She's right," Duke said, nudging Tristan and Geoff, trying to get them to move. "Come on… slowly…"

Geoff was shaking, in fear and disappointment, but he started shuffling his feet. Meanwhile, the All-Seeing White Tiger (which was no longer white and no longer had eyes, at least not noticeable ones) turned its head and sniffed the air. Finally giving a roar that shook the air and caused Serenity to shriek, the Tiger leapt forward. Ezra reacted just in time, pulling her body away and slamming the door; she felt the impact as the Tiger's body hit the other side of the wood. Mokuba turned and dashed back, helping her hold the door shut.

"What's going on in there?" Mokuba asked breathlessly, hearing the hollers coming from the other room. "There's another way out, right?"

Ezra squeezed her eyes shut and tried to visualize the room. "I think so. Behind the couch. I hope they can make it out."

Something grated from inside the room. "What was _that_?" Mokuba asked, his face still pale.

Ezra hesitated. It sounded oddly familiar… "Nails," she answered suddenly. "Claws scraping on the stone floor. Mokuba, step back."

Mokuba flattened himself against the wall as Ezra cautiously edged the door open, peeking inside. Serenity and Pegasus had apparently gotten their legs into motion, because they were hovering in the doorway, making frantic hand gestures. The way was cleared for Duke, Tristan, and Geoff to join them in safety, but all three boys were hesitating because Yugi appeared cornered. The dead beast was slinking around him, growling and sending out streams of putrid air. A bit of dead flesh dropped off the Tiger's shoulder, revealing a patch of brawling maggots, and Mokuba swallowed back some bile and looked away. "I might be sick," he muttered.

"Mokuba, go get help," Ezra said urgently.

"From _who_?"

"The Ishtars! They're upstairs somewhere!"

"Okay," Mokuba said, taking off. His small feet clattered up the stairs as Ezra peered through the doorway anxiously.

"Tristan, Duke, Geoff, just go," Yugi said, not taking his eyes off the Tiger. "I'll find a way out."

"Yugi, make a run for it," Duke urged.

"No! He'll never make it!" Tristan argued. "We have to distract the Tiger somehow."

"But how?" Geoff asked in despair.

"Hey! C'mere, you monster!" Tristan shouted, backing away from the others and clapping his hands. The Tiger gave him a sharp look and turned, its tail brushing against Yugi's leg. Tristan gulped and edged backwards; now he was the one in trouble.

"Get back in your card," Yugi said in a commanding voice, holding out Monster Reborn and fully expecting the creature to dissolve into it. But the Tiger merely turned its attention back to him, hissing and revealing a decrepit tongue but still fully functional line of teeth.

"No way!" Tristan said in alarm.

"Will we _ever_ get rid of it?" Duke asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"Maybe if we get the original Duel Monsters card," Yugi suggested, sidestepping as the Tiger approached too close. "Where's the room? Can anyone get there?"

"Ezra, the room is up the staircase behind you," Pegasus called across to her. "Can you make it?"

"Yeah," she said, closing the door firmly and dashing up. As she sprinted out into the hallway, she nearly collided with Mokuba, who was rushing back with Ishizu and Shadi in tow. Marik and Malik rounded the corner and almost caused a pileup.

"What's going on?" Shadi asked with remarkable calm.

"We need to find the All-Seeing White Tiger's card," Ezra said urgently, ducking into the storage room. "Yugi used Monster Reborn on it and it rose from the dead, and now it won't go away!"

"Marik, Malik, go help Yugi," Ishizu commanded, following Ezra into the storage room. "And hurry! This doesn't feel good!"

"Gotcha," Malik said, jumping around Mokuba and running downstairs, following the shrieks. Marik followed, his face creased in an expression of actual worry.

Ezra, Shadi, Ishizu, and Mokuba tore through the room, toppling piles of cards, looking for the All-Seeing White Tiger. Mokuba began grumbling angrily under his breath, annoyed with the disorganization that was costing them valuable time. Ishizu didn't say anything, but she looked close to tears.

"Ah," Shadi said finally, rising to his feet in a hurry.

"You found it?" Mokuba demanded.

"Yes. Let's go." He moved to the doorway with remarkable speed, and the rest ran after him. They clattered down the stairs, and a worried Ishizu yanked the door open.

Tristan, Duke, and Geoff had shifted positions; they were back against the wall. Yugi, Malik, and Marik were spread out, slowly backing toward the doorway, shouting at the Tiger and causing it to whip its head around in confusion.

"Guys!" Mokuba whispered loudly. "While it's distracted!"

Reluctantly, Tristan, Duke and Geoff edged over, slipping through the doorway Mokuba was holding open. "But Yugi…" Tristan said worriedly. "We've got to help him out!"

"We've got it covered," Marik said, taking the edge of his cape in his wrist and flicking it. The air snapped, and almost in the blink of an eye the Tiger was soaring through the air, claws extending from dead paws. Marik just barely managed to duck in time, and Malik and Yugi rushed forward to grab his arm and yank him to safety.

They'd almost reached the door before the Tiger hit the ground and spun around again, latching onto Yugi's pant leg with hooked claws. Yugi gasped and was dragged forward, hitting the ground with a heavy thump.

"No!" Serenity cried from the doorway on one side of the room. From the other side, Shadi stepped forward.

"Take this," he spoke smoothly, throwing the card in a direct line at Yugi. The boy managed to reach up and catch it, relief showing in his eyes as he quickly took in the All-Seeing White Tiger's picture.

"All right," he said, struggling to rise to his knees. "_Now_- you'll get in your card."

A cold wisp of air blew through the room, and the Tiger seemed to shudder. As the small, anxious crowd watched in amazement, its flesh spread over all its bones and full muscles; hair quickly sprouted after that. The Tiger lifted its head, blue orbs glancing curiously around.

Then there was a flash of white light, and the Tiger was gone. Yugi let out a loud, relieved sigh and collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily and still pale. Everyone was frozen around the doorways, scanning the room cautiously, making sure that the Tiger was really gone; then they slowly started moving into the room. Serenity and Mokuba were the first to rush to Yugi's side, helping him sit up.

"I can't believe it," Geoff said slowly. "I- _never-_"

"We had no idea that would happen," Pegasus said grimly. "Judging by the restoration of the All-Seeing White Tiger when it was called back into its true card, the Summoning reflects the state of the card."

"When we brought it back from the graveyard, it appeared the way it had in the grave," Tristan said slowly.

Duke shuddered. "And then when Yugi returned it to the regular card, it healed until it looked like it had in there." Yugi weakly handed him the card, and Duke studied it briefly, nodding.

"Man," Mokuba said, and everyone turned to look at him. "I guess this means we shouldn't use it on people."

Pegasus looked vaguely sick, nodding. Geoff bowed his head down. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "This was my idea."

"It's- not your fault-" Yugi gasped, still recovering from his scare. "I'm glad we tried it out."

"I'm even more glad we tried it on a Duel Monster, not your sister," Tristan said, rubbing his head.

"Hey, Marik? Malik?" The two blonde boys looked at Yugi in surprise, who grinned at them. "Thanks."

"Oh!" Malik blinked, then scratched his neck sheepishly. "Aw, don't mention it."

"Really," Marik muttered, looking disgusted. "Don't ever, ever mention it again. And especially don't tell the Pharaoh that we helped you. The tomb-robber neither. He'd never let me forget it."

x

x

x

Notes: Just to clarify why everyone wanted to test Monster Reborn first (and damn good thing they did, eh?) – it's like in Star Wars, where Darth Vader first submerged Han Solo in the carbonite before setting it up for Luke. The standard 'guinea pig test'. I actually was going to have Mokuba say that but it seemed inappropriate to throw in a random cultural reference. :P

Are any of you mad at me now? I felt guilty about getting so many people excited. (Actually, I was kind of amazed how many people wanted Kaya back; especially those who hinted at Ryou/Kaya. I thought OC relationships tended to turn many people off. Thank you all for caring!!)


	6. Chapter 6

Atakku

x

Note on the timeline: Ra Summoned all the cards at nighttime. The party of seven left the next day, in the early afternoon. The ones left behind made cookies, and had the Tiger incident. This chapter picks up with the party of seven on the same day, same time (late afternoon) as the Tiger incident.

x

x

x

Chapter 6

xXx

"Eh, who are you kidding. Flame Swordsman could kick Harpy butt."

"I'll take you up on that one!" Mai exclaimed hotly. "You forget that I always use my Harpies in combination, giving them a major boost in strength. Plus, attack points mean nothing anymore. It's all about sheer girl power."

Joey made a disbelieving snorting noise. "Girl power? Come on. Your Harpies, decked out in fancy gear or not, couldn't stand up against my Flame Swordsman. Look at this dude!" He held up the card, the Flame Swordsman posing with his sword stretched out, solid muscles apparent.

"Like I said," Mai replied sweetly, shoving his arm away. "Girl power forever. Your puny Swordsman doesn't hold a candle to the Harpie Ladies."

"Bring it on!" Joey declared.

"Gladly," she shot back.

Ignoring the little lovers quarrel, the rest of the group trudged resolutely onwards. Yami led the group through the woods, flanked on the right by Ryou and Bakura, flanked on the left by Kimo. Ryou and Bakura were quietly conversing with each other. Kimo seemed absorbed in his own thoughts.

Seto was hanging back from his traveling companions. He kept glancing back over his shoulder, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why couldn't anyone else tell that they were being followed?

Well, Wheeler and Valentine were caught up in their domestic spat. He didn't expect them to notice, anyway. He wasn't really surprised that no one else noticed, come to think of it, except for Yami. Shouldn't the self-proclaimed leader of their expedition be looking out for them? Shouldn't the former Pharaoh be tuned in to this? Yami had proven himself strong in all other areas; it was odd that he couldn't sense the _thing_ behind them now.

On closer inspection, something appeared to be troubling Yami. Seto studied him surreptitiously. Yami was massaging his temples, shaking his head at random intervals. At one point, he muttered something under his breath. Finally, Kimo noticed; at least _someone_ was paying attention to _something_.

"Is something wrong, Pharaoh?" Kimo asked solicitously.

"Yami," Yami muttered, distracted. "Please just call me Yami."

"Very well. Is something wrong?" Kimo asked again.

Yami blinked his eyes, finally pulling himself completely together. "Aah… I believe I'm sensing something through the mindlink."

"With Yugi? Is everything okay?" Joey asked, finally directing his attention at something other than proving his masculinity to Mai.

"Something bad happened back there," Yami said, his brow creasing. Seto became momentarily distracted: Mokuba!

"Is everyone safe?" Joey immediately asked, his shoulders tensing.

"Yes," Yami replied without hesitation. "They're safe. But that's all I can tell. I believe someone Summoned something dangerous, but it's been returned."

Seto narrowed his eyes. The other five surrounded Yami, asking him hushed questions that the Pharaoh was, for the most part, unable to answer. He _felt_, rather than heard or saw, something moving behind him again, and abruptly squared his shoulders. They were all too distracted to notice the _thing_, and he wasn't about to give away the element of surprise by telling them all in case the _thing_ overheard. Hanging back while the others continued on, Seto ducked behind a small growth of trees and tangled vines, waiting for the _thing_ to approach.

It was getting late, and as the others' voices melted into the thick forest, Seto suddenly became acutely aware of how dark it was growing. Pushing paranoid thoughts stubbornly out of his mind, peering forward at the freshly trampled path-

_There_!

Seto spun around, bringing his arm off to ward off an impending blow. But nothing happened. Cautiously, he lowered his fist, his body still tensed up; but the forest lay still. He clenched his fists. He had heard something behind him, rustling around in the bushes, very clearly. A cold wind blew over him, and he shuddered.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to hang behind for _too_ long. It was too easy to get lost in these woods. Giving the area around him a last suspicious look, Seto made as if to move forward again, then froze.

Something was coming along the path they'd just beaten out. In the shadows, it was a great, hulking shape, head bent low and snuffles and grunts emitting from the creature. Seto stayed perfectly still, eyeing the creature. It wasn't the same thing he'd heard earlier, but he wasn't sure _what_ this was.

The beast suddenly stopped and lifted its head. Shouts were drifting through the trees. Both Seto and the creature went still, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. It sounded human, he was pretty sure; and he thought he could discern his name being called. It had to be the others, finally noticing that he was missing. He clenched his fists, unsure whether he wanted them to come looking for him or not. The beast was still standing there. It looked around, and finally focused in on the cluster of trees Seto was hiding in. It gave a loud shudder, then jumped forward. Seto involuntarily stepped back, preparing to fight if need be.

But then a bloodcurdling scream broke the air. Both the creature and Seto whipped their heads around. It was coming from the same direction as the shouts, the same direction Yami and the others had disappeared to, and it sounded like Mai!

The beast gave the noisy shudder again, and Seto suddenly realized it was sniffing the air. He gave the creature another long, careful glance, and suddenly familiar bells rang inside of him. _Could it be…?_

But the animal bounded away before he could make sure, after shooting him one more knowing glance.

Confused, Seto hesitated a moment, then stepped out of the tree cluster, picking his way hurriedly over the uneven ground. He had to catch up to the others; it sounded like at least one of them was hurt, and that beast had just gone chasing after them.

He was so caught up in rushing across the forest ground that he almost missed it. A second cold wind brushed by, tickling his ear and sending a chill up his spine. Seto stopped dead in his tracks, and then something slammed into him from behind. He let out a gasp of air, feeling like his innards had been crushed, before blackness crept across his vision and his consciousness slipped away.

xXx

"Maybe we shouldn't have left them alone," Ryou said uncertainly. Yami had clarified that everything was fine back at Pegasus' house, and whatever threat there was had left for the time being, but he'd left the group with a lingering sense of fear and doubt.

"There was no easy answer," Mai responded, brushing her hair back from her face impatiently. "There's no way all of us could have gone to Akuma. It's much more dangerous than anything going on back there. We don't even know what's ahead. It could be _any_ card."

"Well, things have been going all right so far, haven't they?" Joey asked optimistically. "Maybe this won't be so bad."

"Sure, Wheeler," Mai said sarcastically. "It'll be a real breeze, passing through this forest and whatever other field cards are laid out for us, avoiding stupid trap cards like Trap Hole or Snake Fang or whatever else is in this damn place!"

Joey went pale. "Gee, thanks for spoiling my mood," he grumbled.

"Spoiling your mood?" Mai asked incredulously. "How can you be in a _good_ mood?"

"Well, it didn't occur to me that there would be all that extra stuff," Joey shot back. "I forgot about trap cards and those other things."

"Maybe you should be thanking me for reminding you," Mai sniffed, folding her arms. "Wouldn't you rather be on your guard than blunder through the woods, waiting for something to attack you?"

"Quiet," Yami said suddenly. He'd stopped walking, and one by one the others slowed, looking at him expectantly. "Where's Kaiba?"

Joey blinked, suddenly realizing that it _was_ odd Kaiba hadn't joined in on bashing him. His gaze swept over the group; sure enough, there were only six of them. Seto Kaiba and his trademark scowl and trenchcoat were no longer there.

"That's odd." Ryou broke the silence with his obvious remark. "You don't suppose he stopped to use the bathroom, do you?"

Joey snickered despite himself. Luckily, no one gave him a sharp look or nudged him in the stomach.

"KAIBA!" Bakura bellowed suddenly, causing the other five to jump. Joey sighed, then joined in. "YO, KAIBA! YOU AROUND?"

"KAAAIBA! Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Mai called, placing her hands on her hips in annoyance.

"He's such a pain," Joey growled, before going to yell again. "KAAAA-AIBA!"

"Quiet!" Yami hissed again. Startled, everyone whipped their heads around to him again. He was wearing a vaguely panicked look, staring up at the canopy of leaves above their heads. "I think something is up there!"

"Are you sure?" Ryou asked in a whisper. In answer, Yami backed up, pressing his back against a tree in attempt to shelter himself. He waved at everyone, making motions as if they should do the same. Ryou and Bakura ducked in the shadow of a large boulder. Kimo melted back into a dark mass of tangled vines and leaves. Joey joined Yami up against the tree, and Mai backed up quickly. She felt her back scrape the rough surface of a second tree. She leaned against it, wrapping herself as much around as was possible. Yami was right. If she gazed upward, she could definitely see something moving up there, shifting around and rustling the other leaves. It was subtle, so subtle she might think it was just a breeze had not an eerie sensation accompanied the movement.

She kept her eyes trained upwards. It was dark, but she thought she could pinpoint the source. Right… there… Straight above her head.

As a matter of fact, _directly_ above her head. Then just as the realization shot through her head, the wood under her back moved. She let out a scream, as loud as she could; partly out of fear and partly to alert the others.

"MAI! Watch OUT!" Yami hollered, but too late. A thick, sturdy branch whipped around and wrapped around her torso, lifting her off the ground, kicking and screaming. Her legs flailed around desperately, but encountered nothing. As she flew through the air, she whipped by the tree that had snatched her up, and saw to her horror an old, weathered face. The name slipped through her memory briefly; it was the Duel Monster Trent. She'd once faced an opponent who used Trent, but her Harpies Pet Dragon had demolished it. Squirming, she tried to reach her deck, but her hand was trapped. Suddenly, Trent gave her a violent shake. Her stomach lurched and her ribs were squeezed painfully; through a daze, she saw her cards slip from her pocket and go spiraling down toward the earth.

It was a long, long way down.

xXx

"What is that?" Rex whispered.

"_Who_ is _she_," Weevil corrected.

"Yeah, don't insult it," Espa said, fighting back the rising panic.

"Don't insult _her_!" Weevil shot back, glaring nastily.

Mystical Elf had paused in mid-glide, her elegant robes falling in smooth lines straight downward and brushing the ground. Slender, blue-tinted hands were clasped together, as if she'd been praying.

"Uh, hi," Weevil said, flushing and scratching the back of his neck. He hoped he could deal with this okay. He'd never had much luck with girls.

Mystical Elf didn't move, just kept regarding them with the same curious expression.

"What do we say?" Rex whispered again. "Maybe she can help us."

Putting on his best gentlemanly smile, Weevil clutched his hands together, almost like she had hers. "Ah, hello there," he tried again. "My friends and I are a bit lost. Actually, completely lost. We'd like to find a safe place to stay, preferably one with some people. I don't suppose there are any villages nearby?"

Finally, Mystical Elf made a motion. She dipped her head down slightly.

"Yes?" Weevil asked excitedly. "There's a village close to here?"

She nodded again.

"Great!" Espa chimed in, but Weevil stepped in front of him. "That's great!" he said, grinning widely again for Mystical Elf. "Could you lead us there?"

She nodded again, a tiny smile forming on her lips. Weevil blushed and stepped forward happily.

"Thanks a lot," Rex started to say, but Weevil butted in. "Yeah, thanks!" He not-so-casually ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. "That's really nice of you!"

Once again, Mystical Elf simply nodded. She took off, moving with an incredible grace. Her feet were probably treading lightly on the ground, but it wasn't apparent since her skirt flowed smoothly with her stride, not breaking as each foot was brought forward. Weevil's eyes were trained on the hem of her skirt, fascinated with her steps, until Rex gave him a nudge in the side and snickered.

"Shut up," Weevil whispered hotly.

"Weevil's got a giirl-friend," Rex teased, before Weevil punched him in the stomach and marched forward grumpily.

"Wow. What'd you say?" Espa asked, eyeing Rex worriedly.

"Oww… nothing…" he groaned.

xXx

x

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Notes: I know I'm probably the only one getting a kick out of Weevil and Mystical Elf. While I'm sitting here snickering at the screen, the rest of you are probably preparing your rotten fruit. We can all agree that Weevil is nuts, though, right? (I'm inexplicably fond of him anyway)


	7. Chapter 7

Atakku

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Notes: A lot of the cards I have the characters use are actually in their decks in the show. Others I've found by browsing the internet. If anyone's curious about a specific card, please ask. When I think it's interesting or relevant, I put a brief explanation at the bottom of the chapters. Happy reading!

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Chapter 7

xXx

"Hey, Mokuba?" Ezra asked, entering the kitchen.

"You're late for the meal," Tristan greeted, his mouth full. "Why would anyone be late for this dinner?" True enough, the rest of the motley household was gathered around the table, although Tristan seemed to be the only one with much of an appetite after their last mishap. For his part, every time Mokuba reached for the meat, visions of the half-rotted White Tiger went dancing through his head.

"I saved you a seat," Mokuba offered, pointing at the empty chair next to him.

"Thanks, but have you seen Anuba anywhere?" she asked, her brow creased. It was clear that her thoughts were centered on this one thing. "I've looked everywhere. All this time, I thought she was in my room, but she's not there."

"You can't find Anuba?" Duke asked, looking up from shoving a piece of bread around his otherwise bare plate.

"Is that the dog?" Marik asked, scowling.

"_Jackal_," Mokuba corrected him, making a face back at him.

"Have you seen her?" Ezra asked eagerly.

"Yeah. She was on the shore earlier this afternoon, looking after the Pharaoh. Then she jumped in the water and started swimming after them."

Silence reigned. Then Tristan accidentally knocked over his fork. There was a loud _diing_, and everyone started screaming at Marik.

"Are you _crazy_?"

"You let my jackal leave without _saying_ anything?"

"Honestly, Marik-boy, how rude."

"You idiot!"

"Oh, Marik, how could you," Ishizu asked disapprovingly.

Malik poked him in the side. "That _was_ pretty dumb," he whispered. "You should have told Ezra."

"Hey, hey, will everyone get off my back?" Marik asked, annoyed. "It's not _my_ fault the dog wanted to go chase after them. What, would you really have stopped her?"

Ezra was still staring angrily at him, but her eyes had taken on a thoughtful look. She turned on her heel and exited the room, heading for a window where she could see the river as the sun set. Leaning on the stone, she stared at the waters, wondering if Anuba was safe. She should have guessed that the jackal would want to go after them. Anuba had a sixth sense for knowing where she was needed; plus, she probably wanted to make sure Seto was safe. Slightly disturbed, but slightly more hopeful, she stayed by the window until the sky was completely dark.

xXx

The second Mai had screamed, Joey lunged for his deck. Flame Swordsman was on top from his earlier bragging, and he snatched it up without hesitation. "COME OUT AND HELP US!" he bellowed, and his favorite Monster appeared in a bright flash of light. Flame Swordsman strode up to Trent, wielding his sword; he swung it and the sword embedded deep in the wood. As the Swordsman tugged at it, alternately trying to loosen it and cut deeper into Trent, Mai was being swung precariously back and forth in the air. Trent didn't seem bothered by the cut, only angered, and it gave Mai another hard shake. Joey ran back and forth helplessly, holding his arms out as if he thought he could catch the blonde.

"JOEY! Your Swordsman needs MORE POWER!" Yami shouted to him. Joey chanced a glance at Yami, wondering if he had a solution.

But Yami wasn't moving. Joey did a double-take; it wasn't like the Pharaoh to freeze up in this situation. A closer inspection revealed that his friend was trapped- vines studded with thorns had crept up his ankles and around his body. Yami was standing still, not willing to chance moving and excite the thorns, which were long and looked lethal. Joey swept his gaze in a quick circle; Ryou and Bakura were both imprisoned by the thorns. Kimo was trying to back away, reaching for his deck but wanting to get in the clear before making a sudden move.

Shoving all thoughts of panic out of his mind, Joey focused on the problem. He had to free Mai, first of all; Trent could drop her at any moment, or her bones could break from flailing around up there! His Flame Swordsman was running into trouble, but he couldn't think of any Monsters that could help out now!

'_You forget that I always use my Harpies in combination, giving them a major boost in strength.'_

He blinked, suddenly remembering her words from earlier that day. She had a point, there. Sometimes, a combination of powerful cards was far more effective than just relying on a favorite Duel Monster. "Okay," he said aloud, reaching for his deck. "Time to trust my cards!"

x

Yami was trying to keep an eye on Mai, reach for his deck, and wriggle loose of his thorny prison simultaneously. He recognized the growth covering his body as part of a Duel Monster called Darkworld Thorns, especially when one of its trademark flowers bloomed right in front of his face. It was rather beautiful, but right now he was concerned with escaping unharmed. Already, the thorns were digging slightly into his skin in warning, and tightened whenever his hand crept too close to the cards.

Ryou and Bakura were similarly compromised. "Don't move," Bakura ordered Ryou roughly when his companion began to squirm anxiously. Ryou stilled, forcing his tense body to relax. Kimo managed to escape immediate danger and scrambled backwards, reaching for his deck and quickly leafing through the cards. "Hold still," he urged Ryou and Bakura, as he Summoned the Celtic Guardian. The elfish Monster twirled his sword deftly before slicing through the brambles. Bakura quickly shook them loose and pulled Ryou to his feet. "Back away," he said unnecessarily; the two of them moved around Kimo. The Celtic Guardian moved onto Yami, freeing the Pharaoh.

"We have to get away from here," Yami said urgently.

"Because of Trent?" Kimo asked.

"No, I think you've just excited the head-"

With a shriek, something burst through the trees, knocking into the four of them and scattering them. Yami hit the ground heavily, then rolled aside as a thorn-studded vine smashed the ground where he'd once been.

The full body of Darkworld Thorns appeared; a giant blue flower-like head, with a long yellow tongue and sharp teeth. It snapped at the Celtic Guardian, who managed to keep it at bay with his sword.

x

Mai shrieked as she was whipped back and forth. Her cards had slipped from the tight clutch Trent had her in, and went spiraling down towards the earth. Standing below her, Joey grabbed for his deck, searching for a card that would help him.

"Here we go," he said, in a manner only he could pull off, an odd mixture of grim determination and cheerful anticipation. "_Salamandra!"_

The Flame Swordsman still had his hand on the sword's hilt. He clutched it tighter, and the whole thing burst into flames, brighter than anything that had ever burned on his sword. The flames danced around the blade, rearing into a dragon-like shape. Trent howled as the flames shot up its wooden body and around its whole trunk. The Flame Swordsman loosened his blade, swinging it in a tight arc again and spreading the white-hot flames around Trent.

Mai's cards were caught up in the whirlwind that accompanied the Summoning of Salamandra. On their downward spiral, two of them suddenly glowed white. With no effort on her part, Harpy Lady burst forth, rushing to her mistresses aid. Joey gaped as the Monster burst into existence before his eyes, her wings unfolding with amazing speed, sending a sharp wind into his face and blowing his hair straight backwards. With a screech, she reached out a clawed hand, and like a miracle snatched forth Rose Whip.

Flexing her powerful muscles, Harpy Lady flicked her wrist and sent the whip flying forward. It coiled around Mai's legs, and Harpy Lady gave a yank. Trent, already weakened from the flames consuming its body, loosened its hold on her, and Mai went flying backwards.

Yami had scrambled to his feet next to Joey, regaining his composure just in time to help Joey break Mai's fall. The girl hurled into both of them, knocking all three of them into a heap on the ground.

"Summon a Monster-" Bakura started to say, but the irritated Darkworld Thorns whipped around a thorny arm. Ryou ducked just in time, but stumbled and fell on his knees. The Celtic Guardian thrust his sword out, and caught the tentacle before it lashed Bakura, but Ryou was left defenseless. The head of Darkworld Thorns leaned over him, giant mouth opened wide and thin yellow tongue darting out menacingly.

Without warning, something burst from the trees. Ryou involuntarily cringed as it leapt and soared over his head, but the beast landed in front of him and lashed out at the head, darting forward and sinking a strong jaw into the blue flesh of the flower-head of Darkworld Thorns.

"Whoa!" Ryou cried, startled, as he scrambled backwards. The flower-head was now oozing a disgusting fluid that looked black in the darkness, but was probably blue or green. Screeching in pain, Darkworld Thorns turned tail and disappeared into the forest, leaving behind severed thorn-studded vines, courtesy of Celtic Guardian.

Kimo and Bakura hauled a white Ryou to his feet. "I'm okay," he said, rubbing his head and pulling loose. "What _was_ that?"

The creature that had just saved him turned around and trotted up happily, brushing against his leg before giving his hand a quick lick.

"_Anuba_?" Ryou asked incredulously, bending down to stare at the animal head on. Sure enough, it was Ezra's pet; though heaven knew what the jackal was doing here. Anuba sat back on her haunches, looking pleased with herself.

"Anuba?" Yami had stood up and absently brushed most of the dirt off his cloak, eyeing the jackal carefully. "It is her. What is the jackal doing here?"

"I dunno, but I'm glad she is," Joey offered. His arm was slung around Mai; she was only not pushing him away because her neck hurt too much to make any sudden moves. She'd sprained it, either while flailing around with Trent or when she hit Joey and Yami.

"Do you think the girl knows she's gone?" Bakura asked gruffly, folding his arms and eyeing the jackal. Anuba seemed to still 'like him', as Ezra claimed she did, and affectionately nipped at the folds of his cloak.

"Ezra? Who knows," Joey shrugged.

"Back up," Kimo urged, keeping a wary eye on Trent, slightly crisped and blackened from Salamandra's flames.

Obediently, the six of them huddled into a tight circle, heading for the most open area they could find; they were staying far away from Trent and anything else that could be housing dangerous cards. "Watch out for any new and psychotic Duel Monsters," Joey grumbled. "This journey is looking more and more fun all the time. And _where_ the heck is Kaiba?!? You'd think he'd have heard us screaming!"

Flame Swordsman, Harpy Lady and Celtic Guardian hovered nearby, still wielding their weapons. Flame Swordsman had sheathed his sword, but the bright fire still burned, sending a rosy glow around the sheath that enveloped his whole body. The tip of Celtic Guardian's sword was resting lightly on the forest floor, while Harpy Lady cracked Rose Whip lazily. Mai, slowly bringing her head around and ignoring the shoots of pain, made eye contact with the Harpy. They stared at each other, mistress and faithful companion, and Mai forced her tired features into a lopsided smile. She mouthed 'Thank you,' in true gratitude. If there was one good thing about this little adventure, it was that they'd gotten up close and personal with the truth: The Duel Monsters were real. And against all odds, all probability, Harpy Lady had just saved her life with that incredible stunt.

Anuba was the first one to react. Squatting by Ryou and Bakura's heels, the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly went up. She growled, a deep rattling sound in the back of her throat.

"What else is out there?" Ryou wondered uncertainly, glancing in the same direction Anuba was glaring. There were no more hints of sunlight; the forest was completely black except for the faint glimmers of the Full Moon still hanging in the sky above them.

The three Duel Monsters moved smoothly in front of the group, standing in between the six companions and the dark patch of ominous trees that were now rustling as if moved by an invisible wind. Mai tensed up; the pain in her neck had suddenly grown much worse.

Yami was waiting, a card in his hand; he was absolutely still, waiting for whatever it was to come out of the trees.

Something stepped out of the shadows. It moved with a strange grace, sliding forward slightly into the clearing. A shaft of moonlight fell across the being's face, and everyone let out a sigh of relief in unison.

"Geez, Kaiba, you really scared us," Joey grumbled, roughly shoving his deck back into his pocket. "What were ya thinking? Didn't you hear all of us calling you? And then we were attacked! Yeah, you heard me- we were attacked!"

Anuba suddenly barked, lunging forward at Seto. At the same moment, Harpy Lady sent her Rose Whip sailing forward, aiming directly at Kaiba's head. But a Duel Monster materialized before her attack connected; Vorse Raider intercepted the Whip with his double-edged axe. The Whip curled around the blade and went taut; a quick jerk of the axe sent Harpy Lady tumbling through the air, a mess of feathers and claws and hair.

"What the heck?" Joey yelped. "What're you all thinking?" He wasn't sure if he was directing the question toward Harpy Lady, Anuba, or Kaiba. Anuba, growling, sailed into Kaiba; he shook her off with a vicious kick and reached for his deck again. Swordstalker appeared amidst a swirling cloud of white mist, swinging at the jackal with its huge sword blade. Anuba bounded out of the way just in time; the sword made a whistling noise as it whirred through the air.

"Kaiba! What has gotten into you?" Yami bellowed.

"Traitor," Bakura hissed, reaching for his own deck. "This should teach you a lesson-" But Harpy Lady, sent sailing in the opposite direction by another blow from Vorse Raider, smashed into him. He fell to the ground, striking his head against the rocky forest floor. Flailing madly, the Harpy accidentally caught him across the right cheek with a claw, ripping open a deep wound before she gave a shudder and disappeared, too tired to continue the struggle.

Mai's jaw dropped, seeing her faithful Duel Monster and friend disappear. She turned narrowed eyes on Kaiba, seething. Oh, he would pay for this. She didn't know what he was thinking, but _he would pay_.

xXx

Note: For those of you that don't know what Darkworld Thorns looks like, it's reminiscent of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. Or you could do a google search and look it up!


	8. Chapter 8

Atakku

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Chapter 8

xXx

"Bakura!"

Ryou stared, panicked, at his companion and look-alike. Bakura's cut was bleeding freely, and the wounded boy was struggling to sit upright.

Celtic Guardian and Flame Swordsman were still standing against Kaiba's Vorse Raider and Swordstalker. The four Duel Monsters were locked in a vicious battle; all Ryou could see were kicks and blades reflecting moonlight as they swung back and forth. He swallowed the bile in his throat, forcing himself to look away.

"Kaiba, you have a lot to answer to!" Yami shouted, striding forward. He put a hand down subtly, blocking Anuba from jumping forward again. The distressed jackal backed up, sitting protectively over Bakura.

Kaiba didn't answer, just stared at Yami impassively. Ryou studied him, his eyes wide, trying to figure out what had happened that made Kaiba betray them like this.

"All right, Kaiba. But remember, you _chose_ to play it this way," Yami growled, swiftly pulling out a card from his deck. "Now! I call upon my Dark Magician to defend me!"

The Pharaoh's most faithful servant appeared in a heartbeat, emerging directly in front of Yami and glaring at Seto. The Dark Magician's eyes held a steely, furious aura, and he was clenching his staff so hard his knuckles were turning white. Yami blinked, remembering their last encounter in the Shadow Realm, and feeling a surge of affection for the Duel Monster.

Kaiba coolly reached for his own deck, selecting a card at random and holding it aloft. There was a flash of white, then nothing; the air in front of him remained as clear as ever.

Ryou blinked. _'Well, that was odd_.' Something else was going on here, and he wished he could pinpoint it…

As the Dark Magician raised his staff, preparing to attack, Ryou watched Kaiba closely. As Seto ducked out of the way, something glittered on his back. A pair of wings were fixed there; one soft, white and feathery, the other wing black and taut. Ryou's mouth fell open, and he suddenly understood what was happening. After all, he'd once become the very card that was possessing Seto Kaiba right now!

"Pharaoh!" Ryou called desperately, attracting the Dark Magician's attention as well. Something in his voice must have stuck a chord, because the Dark Magician reluctantly stopped his attack. "It's the magic card! Change of Heart! It must have entered Kaiba or something, because it's affecting his behavior right now!"

Yami's eyes widened, in understanding and some relief. "Please, come back," he ordered the Dark Magician, mostly thankful that there was an explanation for Kaiba's unsettling behavior. Although he and Kaiba had their differences in the past, there was no logical reason or motive for Kaiba to suddenly betray them now.

"Exile of the Wicked!"

Yami thrust his magic card forward, praying that it would be enough to break the spell. Kaiba's emotionless face suddenly tensed, and his knees buckled; the elderly man portrayed on the magic card advanced forward, clutching a worn Bible. He made the sign of the cross at Kaiba, and a ripple seemed to travel through the air; the next sight Yami saw was Kaiba stumbling backwards. A ghostly figurine- a girl with plain brown hair falling past her shoulders, clothed in a white robe and with mismatched wings- was doubled over, hands over her head. Stepping away from Exile of the Wicked, she finally managed to compose herself enough to dash off into the woods, disappearing from sight.

All was quiet. Then, as if recognizing that immediate threat was finally gone, the remaining Duel Monsters slowly faded from view and the seven companions were left alone. Anuba was still standing by Bakura, who had sat up, and was still glaring at Kaiba with a hostile air. So was Mai, still seething about her Harpy Lady.

"You made a foolish mistake, Kaiba," Yami finally spoke up. The brown-haired boy flinched slightly. "Please never allow yourself to become separated from our group again."

Under most circumstances, Seto would have lashed back at him. But his skin was still crawling from the eerie sensation of having been possessed by Change of Heart. All he could do was shake his head.

Surprisingly, Joey Wheeler was the one to speak in his defense. "We're not taking this seriously enough," Joey said, rubbing his head and wincing. "We _all_ need to wise up and start sticking together. We need to get back on our guard."

"You're right," Ryou said softly. "If we'd been as alert as we should have, none of this would have happened. We were all attacked, in one form or another."

"Except Kimo," Joey pointed out, grinning. "How's that for ironic?"

"Maybe we should stop for the night?" Yami suggested, sighing.

"Yeah. But farther away from Trent and other potentially dangerous stuff," Joey said worriedly.

"Let's set up a system of sentries," Bakura growled, wiping the blood from his face. "I'll take first watch."

"I'll go second," Kaiba said, folding his arms.

"I'll be third," Mai started to volunteer, but Yami and Joey immediately shook their heads.

"No way," Joey told her, earning himself a glare.

"Joey's right," Yami said tiredly. "You've injured yourself and you need a good nights sleep. We should also find something for your neck. It needs support."

"It's fine," Mai lied defensively, restraining from giving a wince of pain.

"I don't think you should be up, either, Bakura," Yami said, turning his attention to the other injured member of the party.

"Don't be foolish," Bakura growled. "I've had far worse wounds than this minor scratch."

"Minor scratch or not, that'll still leave a scar," Yami said, examining his cheek before Bakura roughly shoved him away. "And we should keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn't become infected."

"I can still take my place keeping sentry tonight," Bakura defended, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"If you say so," Yami gave in, turning away. "Let's stay here. Trent is out of reach, and wounded besides."

"Oka-ay…" Joey said doubtfully, setting his pack on the ground and giving the forest a suspicious glance. "If I get eaten, I'm holding you wholly responsible."

The group busied themselves with preparing to camp for the night. Amidst the swift work, Ryou approached Seto. "Kaiba?" he asked timidly. "What was that Monster you Summoned earlier?"

"Monster?" Kaiba asked absently. "Which one?"

"Well, there was one time you held out a card, and it gave a white flash but nothing appeared," Ryou said worriedly. "I'm just not sure if it was something we should be aware of."

Their conversation was starting to attract attention. Kaiba's brow furrowed. "I don't remember anything that happened while Change of Heart was in me," he responded stiffly. "But I'll go through my deck and see if anything odd stands out." He leafed through the cards, holding them under a beam of moonlight. Ryou watched as he shuffled through once, twice, then a third, frantic time.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked uncertainly.

For once, Kaiba didn't snap at the blonde. He lifted his head and looked at Joey, his face pale, even in the darkness. "It's gone."

"What is?" Yami asked, concerned.

"My card. Different Dimension Dragon."

xXx

"Mokuba!" Ezra admonished. "It's too late to be up!"

He stopped in his tracks and looked at her guiltily. He thought he'd been quiet, padding around the castle late at night, but she'd heard him from inside her bedroom and opened the door. Her hair was slightly mussed, as though she'd been asleep, and she rubbed her eyes blearily.

"Have you even been in your room yet?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him as best she could, being so tired.

"No…" he confessed, twisting his hands together. "I went to brush my teeth, but then I just didn't want to go back to the bedroom. So I've been exploring. I was in Pegasus' library at first, but I got sleepy and I was heading back to my rooms. Honest," he implored, when she eyed him doubtfully.

"All right," she sighed. "Why don't you hurry on and get into bed? I'll be by in a few minutes to check on you, okay?"

"I don't need to be checked on," Mokuba said, giving the token protest. "I can go to sleep by myself."

"I know you can," she said, smiling slightly. "But even so."

Mokuba hesitated, then grinned at her. "Deal. See you in a few minutes."

Her door swung shut as he hurried down the hallway, his bare feet padding on the cold floor. He shivered as he approached his room. It got even colder as he neared his bedroom and he didn't know why. In the dark, he thought he saw a faint silver glimmer under the doorway, but when he shoved open the door nothing was there.

"Must have been the moon," Mokuba said aloud, although the Full Moon's light was mostly illuminating his bed. He brushed it off, and quickly dived under the warm covers. Burrowing deep, and suddenly tired, he wormed his hands under the pillow and prepared to go to sleep.

But his hand brushed up against something.

Mokuba paused for a second before sitting up and yanking the thing out. It was a scrap of folded parchment, and a Duel Monsters Card. Turning the parchment over in his hands, the moonlight shone on it, revealing the word _Mokuba_ in his brother's neat penmanship.

Eagerly, Mokuba unfolded the letter, his eyes lighting up as he read the short note.

_By the time you read this, I'll already be gone. But I wanted to tell you good-bye one last time._

_Watch out for the Ishtars, okay? Just keep safe. Stick with Ezra, and I think you can trust Yugi. You might even be able to trust Serenity, but I won't vouch for her._

_If anything bad happens… like I said, stick with Ezra and Yugi, and use your head. You're made of some pretty tough stuff, kid._

_I love you, Mokie. I'll hurry back, I promise._

_Seto_

Mokuba's face broke into a huge smile. He read the letter through three times, his eyes lingering on the last time. '_He called me Mokie again. I thought he'd given up on that old nickname_.' He grinned, and hugged the parchment to his body. His big brother was the greatest.

Carefully picking up the Duel Monster Card, Mokuba examined it, tilting the card back and forth in the moonlight. It was something he'd only seen his brother use once or twice, and he wondered briefly why Seto had chosen to leave it with him. He didn't have any particular memories attached to Different Dimension Dragon.

"It doesn't matter," Mokuba whispered, cradling the card in his cupped hands. "Seto is the best."

For a second, he thought a particularly bright beam of moonlight had hit the card. Then, when the bright silver glow didn't fade away, he realized that the card was glowing. His eyes opened wide, but he didn't let the card go.

Strands of the silver shot up and wrapped around the air, falling away just as quickly to reveal a slender green dragon. It had four wings with very little shape to them; they vaguely reminded Mokuba of sails on a sailboat. Smooth and textureless, they beat up and down rapidly as the sea-green dragon eyed the stunned boy. The dragon had a small head with a sharp mouth but little distinguishing features; the only marks on its body was the pale yellow underbelly. The dragon had a long tail that simply faded away and, at a quick glance, was indistinguishable from the wings. Several whisker-like appendages stuck out from the dragon's tail and head, and they flickered gently as the dragon came to a smooth land on Mokuba's floor.

"Wow…" he whispered, making a half-motion with his hand as if he were going to touch it. The dragon had emerged from the card! This was Different Dimension Dragon! He didn't know how he'd Summoned it, but he was thrilled that he had! Seto would be so proud of him!

He ignored the nagging voice in the back of his head that whispered Seto wouldn't be thrilled, he'd be panicked. After all, Summoning a Duel Monster brought it to life in the truest sense. And Different Dimension Dragon's special ability was nothing to be trifled with – it could slip in and out of time and space, traveling to different universes in the blink of an eye.

So when the dragon gave a gentle snort, and a golden cloud enveloped Mokuba, he realized what was going on, but far too late. The golden cloud was making him sleepy beyond measure, and he didn't even care as the air around him spun into a sharp, tight vortex. His eyes closed, and then he was gone.

x

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Note about the cards: Exile of the Wicked is the card Yami uses on Kuriboh in his (second) duel against Bakura to get rid of the Evil Ghost of Dark Sanctuary. In the Japanese episodes, Exile of the Wicked does have a Bible, although that was edited out; I thought he looked like a monk, which is why he behaves so.

And Different Dimension Dragon is a card that Seto used (against Noah). The description on the actual card is different from how Seto used it; I picked Seto's use because I can manipulate it to serve my means, which I do with increasing frequency as this story progresses.


	9. Chapter 9

Atakku

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Chapter 9

xXx

Kaiba sat up keeping his disgruntled watch. The others were all asleep; Joey had made a not-so-valiant effort to stay away and not-so-discreetly keep an eye on Seto, whom he apparently felt was untrustworthy after that little mishap with Change of Heart. Except, of course, that Wheeler had no self-control and had passed out almost immediately.

Seto poked the fire with a stick, watching moodily as it caught up in flames. He held it until the fire burned nearly up to his fingertips, then tossed the twig into the heart of the fire.

Anuba had apparently been sitting up while Bakura took his watch, for she'd been awake when Bakura roughly shook Kaiba up for his shift. When Bakura retreated to a bare patch of ground and laid down, she had padded over next to him and nuzzled his wounded cheek. Then, after Bakura was apparently asleep, Anuba quietly returned to Seto's side and laid down at his feet.

Seto lit another branch on fire, glancing down at the jackal. Anuba stared back at him with deep, soulful eyes.

Seto let out an exasperated sigh. "All right, all right… I'm sorry for before." He ran a hand down her silky fur. "I have a vague recollection that I kicked you. Are you all right?"

She licked his hand eagerly, seemingly ready to make up. Seto smiled slightly and scratched her ear absently. "I wish I knew what was the matter with Different Dimension Dragon. I don't suppose _you_ know what happened?"

Abruptly, Anuba stilled, staring at him intently. She didn't flinch, didn't bat an eye. Seto stared back at her quizzically.

"Too bad you can't talk…" he muttered, giving up and breaking eye contact. "And am I insane? Why am I acting like the jackal knows something?"

Anuba nipped his shirt sleeve. He glanced down at her, then away. Finally, she laid her head down on her paws and stared at the fire. He joined her, moodily tracking the moon's progress through the sky until it was time to wake the Pharaoh for his watch and get what meager rest he could.

xXx

"Hey, Mai?"

She forced her eyes open. She was lying on her back on some very uncomfortable dirt; a root was sticking in her back. Her neck was propped up on rolls of rough cloth. It didn't hurt as much as the night before; in fact, she could barely feel pain.

"Mai?" the uncertain voice asked again. Joey Wheeler's concerned face swam into view. "You feeling okay?"

"Better than ever," she started to reply perkily. She struggled to sit up, propping herself up with her hands. But the second she moved her neck, pain shot through her entire body; pain so white-hot she actually saw dark splotches creep across her vision.

She was thankful she had the self-control not to scream in agony. But her face contorted horribly, and she froze, afraid to move.

"She's still hurt," Yami's voice came from behind her. _'Thank you, genius,'_ she thought, near hysterical, but didn't budge. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"What do we do?" Joey sounded panicked. If she'd been feeling any better, she would have smiled slightly. He was such a goof, even when he didn't mean to be.

"There's nothing we can do." His voice sounded grim. "Mai, are you okay? Give it a moment. See if you can move. Your neck has been still all night, but it should get a little better, maybe okay enough to walk."

"How do you cure a sprained neck?" Joey asked. She opened her eyes a little bit. Yami was right. The pain, while still considerable, was becoming more bearable.

"Wait until it heals itself," Yami responded, but softly.

Her neck started tingling. Not where she'd sprained it, in the back; that still hurt like crazy. A warm sensation was spreading in the area around her throat…

"_What the_-" Joey yelped. "Yami, what's going on? Do you see that?"

The background noises started to fade away, but she did hear Yami say in a hushed voice: "The Millennium Necklace is lighting up!"

_The girl was lying on the ground, unable to move. Mai looked down at herself through different eyes; she was hovering over the scene. Her neck, apparently, hadn't recovered. She lay comatose on the ground, mostly forgotten by her companions._

_She couldn't really fault them, however. They were all preoccupied with other things. Ryou was running around a small fire, dumping wood on it and desperately trying to urge it into a larger blaze. On closer inspection, he was sobbing quietly, his round face tear-streaked. In between sniffs, he let out a few quick sneezes. "Don't __you__ get sick, Ryou," Yami cautioned, his voice even grimmer than usual. "You're the last one left to help me."_

_Mai's eyes quickly scanned the scene. Joey was lying next to her, nearly on top of the fire. She squinted… did his skin have a faintly blue tinge to it? He wasn't moving, except for a slight rise and fall of his chest._

_The jackal was sitting next to a misshapen heap, staring intently into the woods. The Necklace around Mai's throat glowed again, and she could suddenly tell exactly what was under the blankets. Seto Kaiba lay there, seemingly unharmed except for a small gash on his upper arm. But his heart was slowing down and he was near death._

_Ryou ran around the fire and gently fanned the flames, stopping to look down at a fourth body on the ground. "Bakura," he choked out. "Please don't leave."_

_Mai took a look at the boy's face and would have thrown up, if possible. The cut on his cheek from when Harpy Lady's claws accidentally caught him had turned completely black. The entire right side of his face had swelled up. Bakura was breathing laboriously, as if it hurt him to do so._

_Expecting the worst, she glanced around for Kimo, but couldn't find him. Puzzled, she started to hover over the woods, but something was prodding at her shoulders and she was abruptly jerked back into her own body._

"MAI!" Joey bellowed in her ear.

She would have sat up if she could have, but as it was her eyes flew open and she fixed him with a glare. "Joseph Wheeler, I was finally having a vision from this Necklace and you had to go and interrupt it!"

Instead of looking sheepish and guilty, as she'd fiercely hoped, Joey broke out into a smile. "Glad to see you're back," he said, squeezing her hand.

She swatted it aside and clambered to her feet, keeping her neck carefully still. "I'm okay to walk," she announced.

"That's fantastic!" Joey responded jubilantly.

"Mai, what did you see?" Yami asked, but his voice sounded pleased.

She blinked slowly. "…It was us. In the future, I can only suppose. We were still in the forest. A… lot of us were wounded, actually. You and Ryou were trying to take care of us all. Except…" her brow furrowed.

"We were all sick?" Joey asked, a note of panic suddenly creeping into his voice.

"I, for one, was not sick," Seto mumbled from behind her.

"It couldn't have been true," Mai said with finality. "Because in the vision, my neck was so bad that I couldn't move. But I can walk now. And sprained necks only get better."

"Unless something else happens to them," Bakura cautioned. He was somewhere to her right, and she shifted her entire body to look at him. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Your cut…"

He brought a dirty hand to his cheek and swiped at it roughly. "It feels fine," he assured the group in a gruff tone.

"I mentioned that you should watch out for infection," Yami remarked, his voice tense. "Let us know if anything starts to hurt."

"What are you, my nursemaid?" Bakura demanded. "Why the sudden concern?"

Ryou broke the uncomfortable silence. "Because, Bakura. It's starting to turn black."

xXx

Odion let out a heavy groan. There seemed to be a great weight on his back. _How long have I been asleep?_ he wondered, before he remembered. _Not asleep. Unconscious_.

Struggling, Odion pried his eyelids open. After a few minutes he was able to start shifting some of the stone off of his body. He was lucky to escape relatively unharmed, considering the white marble wall had collapsed, literally on top of him. Two big pieces had fallen to his either side, effectively stopping anything larger than his hand from landing on top of him. Even so, he was covered in rubble and dust.

He stood, groaning, and stretching his muscles. From the feel of it, he had been out for a long time. He squinted at the sky: it was about midday. So he had to have been out for nearly a full day- maybe it was even two days. His stomach was empty enough to make that believable.

A soft grumbling noise came from behind him. He spun quickly around, on high alert, but it was just a goat. A rather strange looking goat, in fact. It was small and roundish, and had a very dark gray body. Its eyes were round and completely green, half-dead looking. The tail was huge and fluffy, and the goat had two tiny wings perched on its back.

Odion swallowed hard. This wasn't a goat…

…it was a Duel Monster.

And he was no longer in the desert. There were trees growing all around him.

The Monster, a Dark Gray, gave him one last look and ran off. A second later, something collided with his back and knocked them both to the ground.

"Aah!" the thing gasped. "What- I'm- you- _Odion_!"

Still bewildered, Odion sat while the thing hugged him fiercely for several long seconds before it clicked in his mind that this was Téa.

"Miss Téa," he said warmly, resorting back to formality in his delight at seeing her once more. "I feared the worst."

"So did I," she laughed breathlessly. "But- _oh_." Her expression changed to a slightly worried one. "Where did you come from? What happened to you? Were you okay when all the Monsters started appearing?"

Odion frowned, genuinely confused. "I don't know what you mean," he said honestly. "The Pharaoh was dueling Masters- I mean, dueling Marik and Bakura. His friends were with him. I had started to return to fetch you when a section of the wall collapsed on me, and I've just woken."

"Then you have no idea what's been going on," Téa said flatly, glancing nervously over her shoulder. "Come on. I'll explain while we run. He's been gone a while now, but he could be back at any time."

"Master Marik?" Odion wanted to know as she yanked him to his feet.

"No," she said, glancing over her shoulder again. "I mean R-"

And then they stopped short. The two of them had come face to face with a tall, golden man, dressed in fine robes and regarding them lazily. He waved a hand, and suddenly they were back on top a building, standing on a smoothed-over floor. Odion glanced around quickly; there were no staircases or in fact any means of escape.

"So, you tried to run away, did you?" the giant of a man asked, directing his question towards Téa. She glared back at him, her eyes burning.

"You left me alone for a whole day," she spat back defiantly. "What did you expect?" Then, a second later: "You can _talk_?"

The man snorted. "Of course I can," he responded with dignity. "And I rather thought the location would be enough to prevent any unwarranted escapes. How _did_ you climb down?"

"I'll never tell," Téa retorted.

"Who is this?" Odion asked Téa under his breath. The man across from them was giving him the chills.

She bit her lip, directing her gaze away from the man. "That's Ra," she whispered to her friend. "Marik accidentally unleashed him."

_Ra?_

Ra chuckled, lifting his arms. "I hope you realized that, even had you gotten farther, I would have found you," he addressed towards Téa. "You'll never escape."

"So why are you keeping me here?" she shot back. "What do you want with me? Or are you just going to send me to the Shadow Realm like the others?"

He met her eyes in a fierce glare, and the next second she was stumbling back shielding her eyes. "Ow," she whispered under her breath.

"Very good," he sneered, suddenly cold and foreboding. "You figured out what I've been doing with your fellow humans?"

"I could see the Shadow Magic when you were on top of that mountain," she whispered. "You've unleashed all the Monsters. What other explanation is there?"

"Your precious Pharaoh trapped all of us in the Shadow Realm for five millennia!" Ra suddenly bellowed, and Téa flinched. "You've been there, girl. You know what it's like. Dark, cold, lonely… for _five-thousand-years_ my kind was imprisoned in there while you humans smugly walked the earth. Now it's payback time, little girl. Duel Monsters will inhabit the earth, and man will be shuttered away!"

Odion physically reeled back, trying to process this information. Téa stared at Ra, composed again. "So you _are_ going to send us to the Shadow Realm," she whispered.

He sneered. "Is it not true that the most powerful humans kept several Duel Monsters on hand, to do their bidding when they pleased?"

"To fight for them," Téa acknowledged, sorrow briefly flitting through her blue eyes. Ra saw it and grew angry.

"Don't you dare pity us, little girl," he said coldly. "You who have only contributed to our pain. Do you presume to tell me you've never Dueled before? Never picked up a card and Summoned forth a Monster to serve you to the death?"

She bit her lip and chose not to answer. "So, what? You want Odion and me to _fight_ for you?" Her voice was challenging.

"No, indeed," he responded, his mannerisms changing into something more amused. "I have legions of angry, oppressed Monsters willing to fight by my side. But I take on this form from time to time… it tends to make things easier. It's easier to find somewhere to sleep… something to eat…" he grinned. "And I do need to eat."

She stared at him fearfully for a moment, but he shook his head. "I hate to disappoint you, little girl, but I don't eat _human,_" he informed her sneeringly.

In another moment it clicked. "You want us to _cook_ for you?"


	10. Chapter 10

Atakku

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Notes: Hoo boy. I wrote that last chapter in a big rush and it seems I've confused some people other than myself. Hopefully Téa and Odion's conversation will further explain things there.

And about Different Dimension Dragon: Seto Summoned it when he was possessed, but it used its special ability and slipped through space to wind up in Mokuba's bedroom. (The note Mokuba found _was_ actually written by Seto.) When Mokuba picked up the card, it appeared to him, and has now brought him to some mystery universe- read on, but you won't find out where in this chapter!

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Chapter 10

xXx

"Mokuba?" Ezra poked her head into his bedroom door, checking up on him as promised. Her eyes immediately focused on the golden glow hovering around his bed and she saw Mokuba just in time to watch him disappear. A dragon, hovering languidly in front of the bed, turned to face her. Her gaze locked with its piercing yellow eyes and she stumbled backwards. Her heart thudding, she screamed for the person whose room was closest. "_YUGI!_"

A thump, several heavy footsteps, and the sound of his door being shoved open reassured her that he was on the way. From the sounds coming down the hallway, it seemed like several other people were hurrying down as well. She gave the dragon a brief once-over, recognizing it. A summary of Different Dimension Dragon's abilities went trickling through her mind and she suddenly realized what must have happened to Mokuba.

Trusting that Yugi would figure out how to rescue them, Ezra took a deep breath. She had to make sure Mokuba was safe. With that thought in mind, she dove directly into the golden cloud still hovering by the window.

xXx

The door to Mokuba's bedroom was propped open slightly. Yugi reached it first, followed shortly by Serenity. He barreled into the room, skidding on the stone tiles and just managing not to slide into Different Dimension Dragon. The dragon, apparently, had gotten used to all the commotion and just yawned widely, giving Yugi an up-close and personal view of its teeth.

He summed up the situation in a quick glance, and knew what he had to do a few seconds later. "What happened?" Serenity asked worriedly, grabbing onto his hand.

"Tell everyone else where I am," Yugi responded, gently letting her go and striding forward, disappearing into the golden mist.

Serenity's mouth hung open as she watched him disappear. Her eyes slid over nervously to the giant dragon stretching out in the corner. She studied it carefully; she felt like she should know what it was. While living with Mai, the older girl had taught her a lot about Duel Monsters. Although she'd never been able to see the cards, she had a pretty good understanding of what each card did and a vague idea of what each one looked like.

Some sort of dragon, obviously; and apparently with a special ability. Was this the card that could transport itself to alternate universes? If so, it could apparently bring people with it. She swallowed. It made sense. It also made things ten times more dangerous.

"Whose room is this?" Malik demanded as he barged through. He fell silent, his jaw hanging open as soon as he caught sight of the dragon. It was still lazing in the corner.

"The brat's," Marik was quick to respond, before he too saw the Duel Monster. He reacted a bit more calmly. "Neat. Who did that? Did it eat anyone?"

"It hasn't eaten anyone," Serenity responded, distracted. "It took Yugi and Mokuba and Ezra to an alternate universe, that's all. I'm going to follow them and find out where they are. Will you tell Ishizu and Shadi? They might be able to help us out of there."

"Last I saw, Ishizu was coming out of Shadi's room, following us down the hall," Malik remarked.

"It's not as juicy as it sounds, either," Marik added, "because all they ever do it have solemn talks about the end of the world."

"In the old days, it'd be solemn talks about you," Malik cracked.

"So where'd you say you were going?" Marik called after Serenity, who was already making her way toward the gold mist. "To find…" his voice trailed off as she disappeared into the cloud.

Malik looked at his friend and shrugged. "Hey, it can't be any worse than living with Pegasus," he reasoned. Seeing Marik open his mouth, he quickly added, "I _know_ you like him. But you're nuts, too, in case you forgot."

Marik grinned in response. Sticking his head out the still-open doorway, he shouted, "Ishizu and Shaaadi! Malik and the redhead and the porcupine and the girl with the dog and the brat and I are going on a vacation with Different Dimension Dragon! Don't wait up, but please rescue us if you can! Because I really don't think there's a way out!"

"_What?_" she shrieked, looking haggard, but he ducked back without responding.

"Quick! She's coming!" Marik shoved Malik through, although the other boy suddenly looked as though he was having second thoughts, then darted through the portal.

Ishizu and Shadi slammed into the room a few seconds too late and skidded to a halt, staring at Different Dimension Dragon. "Wonderful," Ishizu grumbled, not her usual collected self. "Something _else_ we have to deal with."

"Tristan and Duke are on their way," Shadi commented, hearing footsteps. "And possibly Pegasus and the other servants."

Ishizu sighed, shoving strands of dark hair from her face. "Pegasus might be able to help, but I think only magic will be able to bring them back. And perhaps not even that. I haven't the slightest clue as to the magical properties of Different Dimension Dragon. We haven't studied Summoned Monsters as much as we should, or could, have."

They fell silent and stared at the portal, as if hoping it would solve their problems for them.

A second later, it did.

xXx

"I do not know how to cook," Téa grumbled as she stormed down the hallway.

"It's all right. I do," Odion responded calmly, several strides ahead of her, leading the way. Ra had brought them down from the roof and sent them on their merry way to the kitchens.

There was now a barrier of Shadow-Magic ringing the palace grounds. It was low and thin, and looked like an exceptionally small black river circling around, but Ra had cheerfully assured them that no humans could get in and no humans could get out. Then he'd changed back into the dragon-form and flown off to wreak havoc wherever he could find people, after informing the two that his supper had better be ready be the time he got back that evening.

Téa, naturally, was extremely displeased with all these developments. But Odion's sudden declaration brought her mutterings to a sudden halt, as well as her footsteps. "You can cook?"

"Of course," he said, slowing so she could resume walking and catch up. "Who did you think cooked for Masters Marik and Bakura all those months?"

"I don't know, I thought they had a whole staff of kitchen-slaves," she said honestly.

Odion allowed himself a small smile. "They did. I was the head cook."

Téa blinked. "Well, all I can say is I thought they'd have found a better use for you." When he glanced back at her, she shot him a blinding smile. He returned it tentatively.

"I was happy in the kitchens," Odion remarked. "It wasn't the only thing I did, naturally. I really only oversaw the dinners. Someone else took care of breakfasts and lunch. But I liked cooking, and Master Marik did wish to keep me happy."

Téa frowned slightly. "I wonder what happened to them all," she mused. "I have no idea what happened to any of my friends, or even Marik and Bakura. I have a feeling I missed the rescue squad."

"Téa, this won't last forever," Odion murmured, taking care to keep his voice low. "We'll get through things for now. Trust me, the kitchens aren't entirely unpleasant. And last I heard, the Pharaoh and _all_ his friends were still fighting strong. I'm sure they're plotting right now how to get rid of Ra and restore world order."

She stopped walking and tilted her head quizzically. "So I _did_ miss the rescue squad?"

Odion laughed at that one, turning to face her as well. "I'm afraid so. What's rather embarrassing was that I intended to be part of that rescue squad." Briefly, he explained how he'd met up with Yami and the others; he told her how he'd also set out. "I was making my way back here, to get you out and offer my services as needed," he explained. "As I was coming in, I noticed that the spell over Masters Marik and Bakura had been broken, because both of them were surrounded by the Pharaoh and his friends, looking rather confused. Master Marik was unconscious, having just torn up Ra's Duel Monster's card."

Téa snorted. "So that's how it happened. When the card was broken, Ra was unleashed."

He nodded: "I do not think anyone intended for this to happen." Téa nodded back, making a slight face.

"I picked up my pace, trying to reach everyone," he continued, seeming slightly uncomfortable. "But the wall collapsed just as I was passing through." His eyes clouded: "I think a lot of people died under it, trying to get out of Akuma."

Téa pressed a fist to her mouth. "I had been so afraid you were killed!" she gasped. "Perhaps it's a good thing I never knew!"

Odion seemed embarrassed. "I'm just lucky I wasn't. The bigger pieces of marble missed me, so I wasn't crushed, but I was knocked unconscious for several days. I was buried under all the rubble and only just awoke and dug my way out when I met up with you."

"And Ra," Téa added ironically. "So you had no idea that he'd brought all the Duel Monsters to life?"

"Not until I awoke in the middle of the Forest Magic card," Odion explained, shaking his head. "But, while we are on the subject: How did he bring all the cards to life?"

"I think he Summoned them," Téa said, deep in thought. "And I don't think he got _all_ the cards, actually. Just the ones in this area. When the Rare Hunters were running away, a lot of them dropped their decks, and of course a lot of the corpses had their cards with them." She shuddered.

Odion nodded, looking at her and silently urging her to continue. Téa recognized that, after he'd told her his story, it was her turn to explain everything that had happened to her.

"I got knocked unconscious during Yami's assault on the palace," she said, flushing a little. "It was a stupid accident. Anyway, I think I was the last person left in here. When I woke up, half the building was destroyed and Ra was hovering over me. He tore down some more walls, so I was stuck on the new roof, and all the staircases were completely blocked. There was no easy way down.

"Then Ra took on that humanoid form you saw earlier. He Summoned all the cards, poked around a little more, then turned back into his normal form and went flying off. I could see bits of Shadow Magic being thrown around. I knew that he'd already moved Duel Monsters from the Shadow Realm to earth, so I realized that he was sending humans to the Shadow Realm. I decided to escape, but it took me a whole day to climb down from that stupid tower. Like I said, there were no more staircases.

"So after I finally made it out, I bumped into you, then Ra showed up. And now we're his kitchen slaves," she finished despondently, rolling her eyes.

Odion heaved a sigh. "This has been an unfortunate turn of events," he noted. "We thought that once Marik and Bakura were saved, the world would turn back to normal."

Téa lifted her palms. "I've given up on normal. I just want sane and reasonably secure now."

Odion smiled at that. "In any case, you understand why Ra is sending humans to the Shadow Realm?"

"I think so," she replied quietly. "He's angry that the Duel Monsters have been imprisoned in the Shadow Realm for the last five thousand years while humans walked the earth freely. Now he's sending people to the Shadow Realm and letting Duel Monsters take over the earth.

"Ra is using Akuma as his 'base'. He'll live here, and eat here – that's where we come in, as cooks, I suppose – but he'll leave daily to go seek out people. Once he finds them, he'll send them to the Shadow Realm. And so on," she sighed gloomily.

"Look on the bright side," Odion said, resuming his walk towards the kitchens. He flung open the door, revealing an untouched storeroom packed with fruit, wheat, and various kinds of wine, all of the finest quality. Téa gaped, noting the pen of squawking chickens in the corner, a stone door marked 'Dairy Products', and the shelves of food reaching to the ceiling. "Marik and Bakura were _pigs_," she muttered.

Odion laughed. "This did go to feed all the Rare Hunters and staff… as well as the prisoners," he reminded her.

"I never got food _this_ good," she commented.

He shrugged. "I apologize for that. I brought you the best I could."

"Don't apologize. That was delicious, especially for prisoner fare." She gazed around. "But this is simply amazing…"

"I hope you don't mind following my directions in the kitchen," Odion explained, taking mental note of how well-stocked the room was and what products would last the longest. "But back to what I was saying. Look on the bright side."

"That would be?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're 'reasonably secure', for now. We know that the Pharaoh is still out there fighting. And we most definitely will not starve."


	11. Chapter 11

Atakku

x

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Chapter 11

xXx

The room was huge, but generally featureless. The floor was cold and tiled, the walls white and smooth. The six vagabonds huddled together at the center of the room, seeking protection and answers. Most of them, anyway. One of them had something else on his mind.

"Party-time?" Malik requested hopefully.

"Not quite," Ezra said, arching an eyebrow at him. "More like we're hopelessly lost because all of us decided to jump through a random portal."

"You must have started it," Mokuba teased, "Because I didn't jump. I was kidnapped!" He finished this dramatically.

"It doesn't matter who started it," Yugi said calmly. "We've got a pretty good balance here. The six of us are on one side, and Ishizu, Shadi, Duke, Tristan, Pegasus, and Croquet are on the other. I'm sure Ishizu and Shadi won't let anyone else cross."

"Yeah, she was pretty mad when she found out _we_ did," Marik nodded.

"Why did we, anyway?" Malik grumbled, looking around at the blank scene. "There's no party. There's no adventure. There's not even anyone trying to kill us."

"Don't assume anything," Yugi cautioned.

Marik and Malik laughed, thinking maybe the runt had developed a sense of humor after all. Serenity, on the other hand, noticed how tense his whole body was. "Yugi?" she asked, her voice wavering. "Um… why did you say this?"

His brow furrowed. "I'm just getting a really funny feeling of déjà vu…" his voice trailed off and he looked around. "It doesn't _look_ the same, but something _feels_ the same."

"The same as what?"

Mokuba jumped in, his small face wrinkling in concentration. "I know what you mean. I think it's the smell."

"The… _smell_?"

"I'd recognize this smell anywhere," he declared. "Even though I haven't sniffed it in over a year. It reeks of _computers_."

"You can smell computers?" Ezra asked doubtfully.

"Of course." He suddenly reminded her of Seto, lifting his chin and assuming a practical, clipped manner. "My big brother had a lot of labs and stuff. I would go in and sit with him and the other technicians when they had a big project. When a whole room full of computers is running at once, it _definitely_ starts to smell. Like… plastic, I guess, and you can sort of tell that a whole bunch of electricity is crackling around. Plus, there's always a chemical smell, like what they use to clean and what the computers are made of."

Yugi's brow was still scrunched up. "You're probably right," he admitted at once. "I mean, I trust you of all people to know what a computer lab smells like. But it doesn't make sense why it seems familiar to _me_."

"Could it be something other than a _lab_?" Serenity suggested.

"Maybe factories smell the same way," Ezra suggested. "Machinery in progress?"

"I suppose," Mokuba allowed, thinking. "But it's not just the smell. It's the noise."

"All the voices?" Marik suggested. The only one who reacted was Malik, who rolled his eyes in a _why-me_ gesture.

"The low humming," Mokuba continued. "I can sort of hear it, because I'm so used to it. Ssssh- listen."

"And the voices," Marik remarked, before Malik dug an elbow into his side. They all fell quiet, listening intently.

"He's right," Yugi finally broke the silence. "I can hear the humming of machines. And if Mokuba thinks it's a computer noise…"

"It probably is," Ezra finished. "But what's that other sound?"

"It sounds like people whispering," Serenity said worriedly.

"It's the _voices,_" Marik said, finally irritated. "Why do humans have such poor hearing?"

"You're human too, now," Malik shot back.

"_Sssh_!" the rest of them snapped again. "There _are_ voices," Yugi whispered. Marik snorted, crossing his arms.

"What are they saying?" Ezra asked back, saying the words so quietly she was nearly mouthing them.

"They're talking about us," Serenity breathed back. "I can hear- my ears are still sensitive from when I was blind. Let's all listen."

Yugi solemnly lifted a finger to his lips.

"_Who are those kids?"_

"_You see the one on the end? That's Yugi Moto."_

_A light growl. Someone was annoyed._

"_What is he doing here?"_

"_How did he get here?"_

"_I don't know. Maybe someone was messing with the computer system."_

"_So are they real?"_

"_Yes. I just ran a scan."_

"_This could be our big break…"_

"…_and our chance for revenge."_

"_Gentlemen, I understand you perfectly."_

"_Hold on just a moment! Look!"_

"_What is it?"_

"_The youngest Kaiba brother is here as well!"_

There was a long period of silence. Serenity and Ezra glanced around, puzzled. Marik was idly shining his fingernails, and Malik was frowning in confusion. Yugi and Mokuba, on the other hand, were standing stock-still, their faces slowly draining of color.

"_This is perfect,"_ a voice suddenly picked up. _"We've been waiting for a long time to get our revenge on those kids, and especially the Kaiba brothers. Seto Kaiba ruined our lives- first by reforming the blasted company, then by taking our jobs and imprisoning us here. Taking out his precious younger brother should nicely ruin _his _life._"

"No way," Mokuba whispered. "Who is _that_?"

"Who are any of them?" Malik demanded.

It was Yugi who answered. "I recognize those voices. The Big 5 have to be here somewhere."

xXx

Mystical Elf had slowed pace when she saw Rex getting tired. Weevil, on the other hand, had eagerly picked up his steps until he was walking next to her. "Don't mind them," he said eagerly. "They're pretty slow."

"Hey, it's a lot farther than we thought!" Espa shot back, trudging a little ahead of Rex.

"I thought it said the village was close," Rex grumbled.

"_She_," Weevil hissed.

"It probably seemed close to her," Espa theorized. "But far to us."

"Because you're wimps," Weevil sneered back.

"I am sorry for the distance. I did not realize it would be quite so far. We've had to take the long way around to avoid servants of Ra."

Mystical Elf delivered this declaration without looking at any of the three boys, all staring at her with jaws agape. "You can talk?" Weevil finally squeaked.

"Hey, if she can understand us, she heard all those 'girlfriend' jokes!" Rex piped.

Mistake. Weevil, his face scrunched up and beet-red, turned around and stomped over, slugging him again in the stomach.

"You wouldn't think someone so short could pack such a punch," Rex moaned to Espa, the latter staring at the former lying in pain on the ground. "Unfortunately, he can."

"What do you mean, we have to avoid servants of Ra?" he questioned, his face still glowing in embarrassment.

"Ra has made it his mission to send humans to the Shadow Realm, and let Duel Monsters reign over the earth," she explained calmly. "Some Duel Monsters have joined him, and we must be wary of those. Some are living as they know best, ignoring the fighting going on around them. Others have decided to fight him in his mission. I am bringing you to a hidden community of humans and Duel Monsters who want to fight him, and bring peace to all."

"Corny," Rex grumbled, but quietly enough so Weevil couldn't hear him.

"So he _is _the one Summoning all these cards?" he wanted to know.

"All he can find," Mystical Elf replied. "As he discovers more humans, and disposes of them, he retrieves any cards they may have been carrying and unleashes the Monsters."

"We'd better hope he doesn't find Pegasus' stash," Espa offered, his eyes wide. "Can you imagine? The earth would be covered!"

"Even more than it is now," Weevil realized.

"And we'd probably get chased by even more bugs and dinosaurs and stuff," Rex moaned.

Mystical Elf smiled gently, lifting her hands. "Will you join us in fighting him?"

Rex and Espa suddenly looked alarmed and nervous. Weevil merely looked star-struck. "Anything for you!" he promised.

"I should have seen this coming," Rex muttered.

"We'll get to be heroes for once," Weevil snapped, directing his comment at the sulky Rex.

"We tried that before," Rex shot back. "And we ended up here, in case you didn't notice!"

xXx

At Ezra's unspoken question, Mokuba spoke in a clipped, hurried manner. "The Big 5 are these men who used to work for my stepfather. When Seto took over, they were working with Pegasus for a little while to take over KaibaCorp; then when they lost touch with him, they reprogrammed Seto's virtual reality game. They trapped him inside it and were going to kill him in there. I ran and got Yugi and Joey, and while Téa and Tristan watched our bodies, we traveled to the virtual world. Seto and me and Yugi and Joey- and Mai was there too- made it out in the end, and Seto and Yugi trapped the Big 5 in cyberspace."

"Who let them out again?" Malik wondered.

"Maybe no one let them out," Marik suggested cheerfully. "Maybe Different Dimension Dragon brought us inside a computer."

"_Not yet_."

In unison, all six of them jumped; Serenity landed on Marik's foot and the two of them ended up nursing bruises on the ground. "Ow," the latter grumbled.

Five figures had appeared at the other end of the room, dark shadows silhouetted against a blinding white background. Yugi had to shield his eyes. In the brief seconds before they adjusted, all he was aware of was strange, disembodied laugher, coming from the light source.

"That must be the Big 5," Ezra whispered, staring warily at the men in crisp business suits.

"You bet," Mokuba said grimly. There was a look of vivid anger on his young face. "Gansley, Lector, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Crump. They're the creeps who betrayed my big brother."

"Very good, little Kaiba," the tallest one sneered. "Listen up, all of you. And especially you, Yugi Moto! We've never forgotten how you beat us that last time. We were imprisoned in cyberspace, doomed to wander around for eternity! We were lost, until Mister Noah made contact with KaibaCorp's mainframe computer, and we made our way here. But now you've wandered into our lair- and now it's time to play a little game."

"I'm sure you're all familiar with _Duel Monsters_," a short, fat man sneered, and suddenly the Big 5 were taller, looming over them, their eyes dark. Serenity stifled a scream; Mokuba flinched.

"They're holograms," he whispered, suddenly realizing. "And that must mean we're still real. We're not in a computer yet."

"Watch and learn!"

As the booming voice faded away, so did the Big 5 and the blank white room. It was replaced instead by a jungle, full of lush greenery and giant blossoming flowers.

"What the-?" Yugi started.

"Another hologram," Mokuba interrupted. "See?" He pointed at Ezra, who had bent down to touch one of the flowers. Her fingers went right through it.

"I assume _that's_ a hologram too?" Marik asked casually, pointing upwards. They all immediately craned their necks: over the tops of the amazingly tall trees, something blue was speeding toward them.

"Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" Yugi realized.

"It's got awfully big teeth," Serenity worried.

"And I think it can breathe fire," Malik commented. "Shall we run?"

"Uh, yeah."

Yugi, Ezra, Serenity, and Malik turned and dashed away, until they realized that they were missing two of their friends. "Mokuba!" "Marik, you idiot!"

Winged Dragon swooped down on top of the two of them and opened its mouth. They caught a glimpse of steely teeth before a sheet of fire billowed out; Mokuba and Marik disappearing under the giant flame.


	12. Chapter 12

Atakku

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Note: In response to those commenting on the incredibly close similarities to Noah's arc: Yes, it is very alike; I preserved the background story but eventually I'll put my own spin on the arc, with Malik/Marik's help. Things will really change once we move past the explanations (I'd skip them altogether except I'm worried that some people haven't seen those episodes).

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Chapter 12

xXx

"I _said_," Marik shouted from under the sheets of flames, "I assume that's a hologram too!"

"…oh," Malik said sheepishly. Winged Dragon flickered and faded away, leaving the two boys. Mokuba had his arms crossed and was wearing his brother's patented superior look. Marik pouted. "No one ever listens to me!"

Malik made a face, and was about to stick his tongue out at the other boy, but his attention was caught by a new figure, appearing from the leafy foliage.

Everyone turned to face the newcomer. Marik's eyebrows went up. "Is that me or am I me?"

"It's another hologram," Yugi stated. For this new image looked exactly like Marik, from the black boots to the baggy cape to the strange pointed hair. Hologram-Marik stared at the group, then pulled a strange face, letting his eyes roll around in their sockets.

"_Gross_," Serenity said, wrinkling her nose and shying away. "Why are they doing this?"

Mokuba jumped slightly as another hologram walked out and took a place opposite Marik. "This is getting weird," he said worriedly. The new hologram was exactly identical to _him_.

"Watch!"

Gansley's voice seemingly came from nowhere and everywhere, shaking the ground and hurting Mokuba's ears. He winced slightly, as did his other five companions.

Two Duel Monsters appeared over the hologram's shoulder. Little Chimera hovered behind Mokuba, while Masked Sorcerer curled up behind Marik's shoulder. Both hologram boys were sporting Duel Disks.

"I play Fox Fire, in attack mode," holo-Mokuba announced. "My Deck Master's special effect raises its attack by 500 points." Fox Fire, a weak monster to begin with, went up to 800 attack points.

"I play Worm Drake," holo-Marik countered. The Worm Drake, stronger than Fox Fire, beat it easily. Holo-Mokuba's lifepoints went down by 600, and holo-Marik drew a card. "Because of my Deck Master's special ability, I can draw every time I inflict damage to your lifepoints," he announced.

"Wait a second," the real Marik attempted to interrupt. "I don't like that card. Give the magician to Yugi!"

"Shut up," Gansley's annoyed voice whispered. "Watch the duel. Your lives might depend on it."

"But I don't use magician cards!" Marik protested. "Can't I have Ra back?" Malik gave him a disapproving look. "Obelisk, even?" he tried.

"You saw what happened last time you used the God cards," Malik explained patiently.

"_Back to the duel_!" Gansley hissed.

Holo-Mokuba drew, then placed his Monster on the field. "I play Darkfire Soldier," he announced. "And because of my Deck Master's special ability, its attack goes up to 2200."

"No fair! I didn't even lay a trap card?" Marik protested. "Who is this chump?" He scowled as holo-Marik's Monster was blown away and his lifepoints ticked down. "I object to this."

"_Will you shut up and watch the duel??_" Gansley requested again.

"If I were playing it right!" Marik shot back.

"I have no more Monsters," holo-Marik announced without emotion. "So I move my Deck Master to the field in defense mode."

"It's my turn," holo-Mokuba said tonelessly. "Attack, Darkfire Soldier."

"Hmph," Marik grumbled. "At least I won't lose any lifepoints."

"You're really getting into this, aren't you?" Malik questioned.

Darkfire Soldier attacked and destroyed Masked Sorcerer. Then, as the onlookers stared, holo-Marik dissolved into small pieces, sinking to the floor and disappearing.

"What??" Marik protested violently.

"_As you can see, we'll be dueling using the new Deck Master system,_" Gansley explained nastily. "_The Deck Master will afford you certain special abilities. You can choose to move it to the field… but if your Deck Master is destroyed, you automatically lose the duel_."

"…I _lost_ that?" Marik asked incredulously. "To the little brat?!? No way! I demand a rematch!" He went to seize holo-Mokuba, but the hologram vanished, leaving them back in the white room with the Big 5 looming over them. Ignoring the change in scenery, Marik grabbed Mokuba by the shoulders and shook him. "I demand a rematch, you cheater!" he screamed. "That was an unfair duel!"

"Get _off_ him!" Ezra wedged in between the two boys and grabbed Mokuba away, scowling at Marik. "Are you _insane_?"

He stared back at her.

"Okay. Stupid question," she muttered, dragging Mokuba off to the side.

"You know that wasn't _real_, right?" Malik asked doubtfully to his other half. "Because you and Mokuba were standing right there, and neither of you was dueling, and that was just a hologram to prove a point. You know that, don't you?"

"I would _not_ lose," Marik scowled.

"I think you're missing the point," Mokuba remarked mildly.

"I think they were trying to scare us," Ezra added.

"I think you got them annoyed," Malik concluded in a stage-whisper.

"I wouldn't have expected holograms to show that much emotion," Marik said thoughtfully. Crump seemed to be the most annoyed, Gansley close behind. Nesbitt, Lector, and Johnson all kept carefully impassive faces, but just the rigidness showed their patience was being tested.

"So are you guys dead or what?" Malik asked tactlessly.

"We've lost our bodies," Lector spoke sharply. "But it won't matter for long. Soon, we'll have new bodies!"

Yugi froze. Ezra grabbed Mokuba's shoulder protectively. Serenity's eyes widened.

"New bodies?" Marik asked curiously.

"How're you going to manage that?" Malik asked aloud.

"I think they want _our_ bodies," Serenity whispered fiercely.

"Finally," Johnson grumbled, but it was audible.

Unbeknownst to the normal members of the group, Marik and Malik were full of self-satisfaction. Being insane wasn't as easy as it looked (although it was just as fun). Driving others insane was a _lot_ harder than it looked (although it was just as fun too!). But they were doing a pretty good job on the 'Big 5.'

"So what does this have to do with Duel Monsters?" Marik questioned, opening his eyes wide and trying to pull Mokuba's 'innocent' look. Needless to say, it failed miserably.

"And that Deck Master system thing?" Malik added.

"Or that weird hologram that tried to barbecue me?"

"Or hologram Mokuba kicking hologram Marik's a-" Malik was cut off by an annoyed psychopath leaping on top of him and choking him by the collar of his shirt.

"Maybe we could give those two to the Big 5 and they'd let us leave?" Mokuba suggested. Ezra rolled her eyes, debating whether to point out that that wasn't very nice.

She decided not to.

xXx

When the sun rose in the east, pink tendrils crept across the dark sky. Eventually, as the fire-orb fully penetrated the horizon, the spectacular colors of the sunrise faded, and the sky cleared to an even blue tone. The forest sprung to life, as the creatures of the darkness temporarily settled down and the rest of the Duel Monsters rose to greet the day. The treetops of the forest parted, and Blue Winged Crown soared out to float in the sky.

Blue Winged Crown stood out boldly in the air, its dark blue body with flaming red streaks framed against the light blue backdrop. The Duel Monster rode the thermal air currents up, letting the heat of the earth carry it higher. Blue Winged Crown noted somewhere in the back of its mind that flying would be a lot easier in the desert, where the scorching sand would send pillars of soft, billowing air, and it could float in the sky for a whole day without flapping its wings once.

Still, the air was good, the temperatures warm, and the sights beautiful for the winged beast flying high. Blue Winged Crown drifted off into safe and cozy daydreams about its wonderful, free life, and was lost in the joy of flight when something freezing cold radiated from below.

A shiver wracking its body mid-flight, Blue Winged Crown abruptly changed course. This was much better. That cold patch of forest… evil lived there. Bad Duel Monsters had claimed that land, staking it out and guarding it jealously. They would attack any who entered their territory. The other Duel Monsters knew enough to steer clear. Humans, however, might blindly stumble in; they would be sent to the Shadow Realm, or killed, and their cards would be stolen and Summoned as servants of Ra. The Duel Monsters that lived in that part of the forest obeyed Ra, served him, and performed his malicious will with glee.

Blue Winged Crown left that awful place as quickly as possible, filled with sorrow at the thoughts of the unsuspecting humans. It wished it could do something to help, but it was impossible to warn the humans. The thick foliage made it impossible for it to find any wanderers. So it flew away, never suspecting that at that very moment, a group of seven brave explorers was entering that territory claimed by the servants of Ra.

xXx

"I don't like it here," Mai murmured. "It feels wrong, somehow."

"I know what you mean," Ryou agreed. "There's something funny about this place. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

She quickened her pace. There were still towels propped around her neck for support, but she was feeling much better now. She, Ryou, Joey, and Anuba led the way though the woods. Kimo trailed after them in the middle, reluctantly glancing back at the three boys bringing up the rear. Yami and Seto were flanking Bakura, shooting words back and forth.

"Bakura, I'd have thought your self-preservation instincts were stronger than that!" Yami hissed. "That cut is _infected_, and we need to try to find a way to fix it!"

"I let you look at it. I let Ryou look at it. I even let Wheeler gawk at it. There's nothing that can be done," Bakura sneered. "Face it, Pharaoh- this is one thing you can't magically fix."

"There might be medications you can take," Seto interrupted coolly.

Bakura fixed him with an incredulous look. "Oh really? And where do you propose I find these 'medications', priest?" Seto's eyes flared angrily, just like Bakura had known they would.

"So what do you want to do?" Seto snapped, unwittingly placing himself on Yami's side. "Just walk 'till your face is so swollen you can't see anymore?"

"What do _you_ want to do?" Bakura shot back. "Should we stop and make a big fuss over it, not being able to cure it and wasting a day or more in the process? The only thing to do is let the infection run its course."

"Bakura, that course could _kill you_," Yami said in a forcedly neutral tone.

"_Ssssh!_"

In a split-second, as Yami saw Bakura's eyes dart to the back of Ryou's head, he realized how much the other boy had cared for his one-time hikari. The insight stunned him into silence- Bakura had imprisoned the other boy; how could he care so deeply for him?

_Like me and Yugi_… he thought. Except it wasn't supposed to be like him and Yugi. He and Yugi had the _healthy_ relationship, one in which they deeply respected the other and would put their life on the line for their partner's well-being. Bakura was unstable. He wasn't supposed to care for Ryou so much, wasn't supposed to have the same protective streak that Yami had. And Ryou wasn't supposed to be as devoted to his partner as he was.

_Maybe I have a lot to learn_, he mused resignedly. If Ryou trusted Bakura so much, maybe he should start to as well. And if Bakura cared about Ryou so much he'd silently bear that awful infection, so as not to trouble the other, more sensitive boy, maybe it meant that Bakura wasn't so bad. _And I already trust him… right_? he thought to himself. _Otherwise I never would have brought him here with me, never would have handed over the Millennium Eye._

He looked over and met Bakura's gaze; the other boy had been eyeing him warily. "I know that look," Bakura grumbled.

"Look?" Yami arched an eyebrow.

"That's your 'noble look'," Bakura said accusingly. "You just think you've done something particularly big or kind or generous. And I know you're thinking about me."

Yami crossed his arms and glared- if he'd been wearing a 'look', it was gone now in mild annoyance.

"So don't even think about it," Bakura continued. "Because I don't want to be friends, and I don't want you to forgive me, and I don't want to you keep bothering me about my cut!"

"And you don't want me to tease you about how fond you are of Ryou," Yami managed to deliver with a perfectly straight face.

Bakura, for his part, grew red and spluttering. _Yugi's like my brother_, Yami mused distractedly. _Closer than a brother. He's a lifelong friend, and we can never be apart. Bakura and Ryou have the same relationship, whether they like it or not, and whether Bakura wants to admit it or not_.

He smirked; he knew he was smirking, and he knew Bakura was about to sock him, but he couldn't stop himself. Yami also made eye contact with Kaiba; Seto was smirking a little bit as well.

Bakura was about to lose his composure altogether and break out into a tiny smile (and he couldn't let that happen)- except that at that exact moment, something leapt out from the trees. The object was human-sized, dressed in black, and nearly too fast for his eye to follow. It launched a smooth kick at Mai, snapping her head back – her neck gave an audible crack, and she toppled over like a limp doll – then the thing lunged at Kimo, standing alone and unprotected. Kimo stumbled backwards, but the thing had apparently gotten what it wanted. It darted off through the trees. Kimo patted his pocket dazedly- then froze.

"My deck!" he cried before taking off through the forest, after the thing.

"Stay together!" Yami cried, but too late. Mai was down for the count, Kimo was missing, and they were surrounded by at least three more of the things.


	13. Chapter 13

Atakku

x

Notes: Yes, after Mai dropped her deck during the incident with Trent, Joey and Yami recovered it. She's carrying it with her as normal now. Some of you were asking why Yami hasn't noticed that Yugi's been transported to another dimension, and there is an explanation for this, you just won't get it for another few chapters!

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Chapter 13

xXx

Though it was early morning, the fringes of the forest were dark. Shadowy shapes hovered there. Yami knew they would attack in a second. Kimo was gone, and Joey was already moving protectively over the fallen Mai.

"I'll start out!" Yami whipped out his deck and searched briefly, selecting the first likely candidate. The ground seemed to split apart, and the wind whipped up. Out of nowhere reared the fearsome head of Summoned Skull, towering up and up and up, over the treetops. Ryou pulled back slightly; of course he'd seen Yami use this Monster before, but that had always been on the old duel systems. He had no idea how large the beast truly was.

"Summoned Skull, Lightning Strike!" Yami hollered, putting all his bellowing power into the command so that the Monster could hear. Summoned Skull's wingtips nearly brushed the top of Ryou's head. The boy caught his breath; no matter how many times he witnessed the Duel Monsters, their magnificence never dimmed. Then he was forced to jump back, as the lightning began around the huge clawed feet and the fingertips simultaneously. The crackling white bolts quickly spread through the entire body, until the whole, huge body was alight. Ryou's hair rose up slightly; glancing at Bakura, he noticed that the other's hair was also standing on end. Then he quickly flung a fist over his eyes. The lightning cracked, a loud reverberating noise, then shot out. Ryou heard yelps of pain coming from in the forest. When he opened his eyes, Summoned Skull towering over their group protectively, he saw that all the creatures were gone. The trees were slightly crisped from the frying they'd just received.

Seto folded his arms, looking slightly put out. Summoned Skull disappeared as dramatically as it had come, spiraling down and being sucked back into the host card. Yami tucked his deck in his pocket, making sure it was close at hand.

"What about Mai?" Joey asked wildly. He was hovering over her, bending down, his hands flitting back and forth- he wanted to touch her, but wasn't sure it was smart.

"_Don't_ touch her!" Seto said sharply, striding over and crouching next to Mai. Carefully, he lifted her wrist and felt for a pulse intently.

"She's alive," he announced without ceremony a moment later. "Her pulse is maybe a little weak, but it's definitely there."

"What about her neck?" Bakura crouched down as well, studying her carefully. Her neck was bent at an odd angle, and her curls spilled out around her head in a halo. Her eyes were shut and her face was ashen.

"I heard a crack," Joey said, wringing his hands. "When that thing kicked her- what _was_ that thing anyway?"

"Either Strike Ninja or Armed Ninja," Yami said wearily, hurrying up. "I didn't get a close enough look."

"Why'd it steal Kimo's deck?" Ryou wondered aloud. "That doesn't make any sense to me. Why attack us? If they wanted to hurt us, why steal the deck?"

"Her neck might be broken," Seto said, cutting into the conversation. "That wouldn't necessarily kill her. If she heals, there's a very good chance that she could be paralyzed. But it's a lot easier to heal someone with the old surgery techniques." He scowled. "We're alone in the middle of the forest with nothing but a bunch of Duel Monster cards and food."

"Actually, Kimo had most of the food," Bakura muttered.

"I have a little in my backpack," Ryou offered. He ran a hand through his hair. "But speaking of backpacks... shouldn't we try to get Mai's off?"

"That can't be comfortable," Joey muttered, eyeing how her spine was arched upwards. "But would we disturb her? Maybe we can slice the straps off?"

"That's a good idea," Seto said before he thought about it. Luckily, no one noticed that he'd just agreed with Wheeler amidst all the chaos. "Okay, we need to cut the straps, then we can slide the backpack off from under her side."

"Here." Bakura unsheathed a knife that no one had known he'd been carrying, ignoring Yami's disapproving look. Deftly, he sliced through the straps. Joey and Seto carefully balanced Mai's back while Ryou quickly slid the pack off; then they lowered her to the ground, the whole while taking care not to disturb her neck.

"If you heard her neck crack, we'd better not move it," Seto cautioned.

"What do you think we should do?" Joey addressed to the group at large.

"We can't leave her here." Yami briefly pressed a fist to his forehead. "And we need to find Kimo anyway. Why don't we stop here until at _least_ we're all together. We can check Mai's condition up until that time."

"Sounds like a plan- we don't have any better options," Ryou said. "Should we go search for Kimo?"

"We can't all go. We can't leave Mai alone and we can't all split up," Yami said, thinking. They all unslung their packs, placing them down in an unconscious perimeter around the girl.

"Three of us should go," Bakura said, crossing his arms. "The other two can sit with Mai."

"I'll go search," Seto volunteered, standing to stare at them all from above, viewing their mottled group with a disgruntled look on his face.

"I'll go," Bakura stated.

"And I will-" Yami started to say, but Bakura moved up and grabbed his arm.

"Send Wheeler," he hissed, ignoring the Pharaoh's startled face.

"What?" Yami hissed back. "Why?"

"Look at him." Joey had abandoned the group discussion to crouch next to Mai, stroking her cheek tenderly. "If you leave him here, he won't be much use on lookout duty. Better to get him away from the problem, distract him and make him do something useful. Besides..." Bakura scowled heavily. "I'm not about to leave Ryou alone with a comatose girl and a distracted boy. At least I know you'll always be paranoid." He made it sound like an insult, spitting out the last word, but Yami wasn't deterred: this was a declaration of Bakura's trust.

"You make a good point," he acknowledged. "I'll stay with Ryou and Mai. You, Joey, and Kaiba will circle out and try to bring back Kimo. Go in opposite directions. And, for your sakes' – stay close."

xXx

"We'll duel you. Winner gets to keep your body." Gansley abridged their hard-thought out evil plan, irritation flashing straight through the computer holograms so the six foolish travelers could understand.

"That's not fair," Malik frowned.

"It's not," Marik agreed. "What are you guys putting up? We have to put our bodies on the line... what's in it for us if we win?"

"Can they really do this?" Serenity whispered. "Can they really-" her question was cut short, replaced by a strangled gasp. The other five looked over sharply, just in time to see her arms fly up as she disappeared. A hole had opened beneath her feet, and she was falling away.

"Hey, I want my question answered," Marik protested. A hole opened up under him; he managed to jump in the air a split-second beforehand, but forgot to jump forwards or backwards and just went straight up, then plummeted downward into the hole. Malik eyed it for a moment, then performed a not-so graceful swan dive into the hole after Marik.

"_They were gonna get me anyway!"_ he called over his shoulder to the remaining three.

Ezra briefly ground her palm into her temple. She began backing up, tugging Mokuba away from the center of the room, where holes were rapidly opening up and the floor was falling away. Yugi stood serenely, his eyes darting around; any escape routes were cut off and he was merely waiting. He disappeared in short time, holding his body steady so he didn't tumble out of control.

"Mokuba, there's got to be a door somewhere," she hissed. He was already scanning the room.

"Over here!" He darted over to the wall, flinging himself at the doorknob. The floor fell from under him, but he retained a firm grip on the door handle, kicking at the wall and propping himself up long enough to yank it open. The wood starting to splinter around the handle, Mokuba swung to the other side, his questing feet finding firm ground. He turned to look back, triumphant-

-but the room was empty. The faint echoes of Ezra's gasp sounded, and then they finally faded. Mokuba peered into the area from the doorway, noticing the faint rainbow streaks on the white walls. Those were... computer signals! Was that what the Big 5 were using to project the holograms? Or... his eyes widened, his sharp mind jumping logically.

They had said they would be dueling his friends; they must want to do it in the virtual world, since they had no bodies of their own. So they took Yugi, Serenity, Marik, Malik and Ezra _to_ the virtual world. Those holes must have been lined with microscopic wires to take control of the body's electrical impulses.

He leaned over as far as he could and peered down. The holes hadn't led far. Yugi and the others lay on a second floor a few feet underneath; they were all unconscious. If Mokuba stared hard enough, he could definitely see wires that had sought out their bodies and clung on.

"I can't just rip out the wires," he thought aloud worriedly. "It could screw up their brain patterns." A funny _whoosh_ing noise sounded below him, and he reflexively jumped. Sliding into view, one after another, were a half-dozen robots. They trod over to his friends. As Mokuba watched in amazement, the robots carefully attached a new helmet, fixing wires to his friends' foreheads before ripping off the old ones. The sixth robot trundled around aimlessly, as if searching for something; Mokuba gulped as he realized that the robot was looking for him.

The five robots picked up his five friends, cradling them in their metal arms and heading back the way they came. Unfortunately, this brought Mokuba right into their sight. He gulped as the lead robot, carrying Marik (it was almost funny seeing him unconscious), moved its red metal eyes to face directly at him. It must have given some kind of signal, because all the other robots turned to face him. The sixth robot, the one that was supposed to be carrying him, lifted its arms.

Instinct sent Mokuba jumping away from the open door, pressing his back to the wall. Laser beams shot past him, scorching the other side of the hallway. He gulped. Under him, the robots picked up pace; he could hear them head into a different room. They would be back as soon as they dropped his friends off wherever they wanted to take them, and in the meantime there might be more. He would have to run.

Mokuba glanced around frantically. This hallway wasn't much more interesting than the room he'd just left. It was done in shades of blue, with unmarked doors at staggered intervals. He ran down and tried the door closest; it was locked. He dashed to the other end and tried that door.

He flung it open, caught sight of the three robots gliding his way, and slammed it shut. Bad door.

The robots in there would be out in a second, and he was hearing more noises. Desperately he dashed to the _next_ door and tried it. Yanking it open, he couldn't see anything moving with a quick glance so hurried in, slamming the door behind him. He fumbled for a lock but couldn't find one. Hopefully the robots would be stalled in trying to find the room he entered; they'd have to test the other doors first, but not many. He scanned the room he was in now; it was a computer lab. He would have liked to get on the computers and see if he could find out anything, but was too pressed for time.

Mokuba tried the door at the far end of the lab. To his relief, it opened, and he stepped through. Maybe he could just lose the robots in a menagerie of passageways. He took a few more doors at random, completely lost and barely slowing to look around. All he could tell was that there were a lot of computers.

Eventually, he found himself in a dead end. There was one very big double-door at the far end of the room, but it was locked securely. The door he'd just entered had a lock, an old-fashioned bolt. He slid it into place, knowing that it was useless against those robots, armed with lasers, but it made him feel slightly more safe. He scanned the room for a good hiding place. The room was pretty empty, save for a computer. Maybe there were some automatic locks he could set up. Better yet, maybe he could figure out how to disable the robots. In all probability, they were connected to _some_ central computer system.

He hurriedly sat down in the chair in front of the computer; he had to do this fast; if nothing could be done he would have to leave before he became trapped in here. He searched for a power button; but a blinking blue light made him stop in surprise. The computer was already on? That was odd...

He uncertainly looked for a mouse, but didn't find one. It must be a touch screen. He leaned forward and poked the screen in the center.

Something flickered into view. Mokuba's jaw dropped in surprise. An aqua-haired boy appeared in the midst of blackness- and he was staring straight back, as if he could see Mokuba.


	14. Chapter 14

Atakku

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Chapter 14

xXx

Kimo darted through the forest. The ninjas were fast, and he was nearly on the verge of losing them. Desperately, he stretched out his hand and grunted. Please-

His deck heard him. Lighting up with an intensity that shocked the lead ninja into dropping the rest of the cards, Ancient Elf shoved its way out and brandished its staff. It guarded the immediate area around itself long enough for Celtic Guardian to also emerge from the card. Working together, combining staff and sword and elf magic, the two warriors cleared the forest of the ninjas. Kimo felt something fly at his head, and he jerked just in time to avoid the small dagger. It quivered in the tree, but even as it still vibrated, Celtic Guardian had strode over and grabbed the offending ninja; Kimo got a better look at it and realized it was Strike Ninja, although he was sure there had been at least one Armed Ninja in the group.

"_Traitor_," the ninja hissed. It directed the comment at Celtic Guardian, but Kimo jerked in surprise.

The Celtic Guardian didn't respond. Kimo gaped, not knowing if it even _could_. But apparently the elf tightened its grip around Strike Ninja's throat, because the Monster gasped for air.

"You serve this human? You turn your back on our kind."

"You have turned your back on the world," Celtic Guardian spoke, giving the Monster a shake. "You plot to destroy it."

The ninja gave a wheezing gasp. "We save the world by destroying mankind," it hissed again. "Humans have lorded over _our_ kind for far too long, arrogant and smug. Ra unleashed us now, giving us a chance to claim what is ours! We shall control this realm while humans are banished to the Shadows forever!"

_That's why they stole my deck_! Kimo realized in a flash. _The ninjas – and Ra – consider themselves liberators of the Duel Monsters. It never occurred to them that my Monsters are content serving me. They think my deck should feel oppressed, like they do._

_And there's something else. That Strike Ninja… his face. So determined- so _sure_. He's so sure he's right, that he's saving the Duel Monsters. And the truth is, we have been oppressing them. Who could have guessed that their world was real?_

_So in the end, how can we still say we're the right ones and they're wrong? How do we decide who stays on this planet, and who we lock in the Shadow Realm as no more than slaves?_

xXx

"Don't be afraid."

Mokuba Kaiba heard those words coming from a strange boy on a computer while he was hiding in a room, sheltered from a bunch of laser-shooting robots by a flimsy door with a flimsy lock, while his unconscious friends battled his older brother's former work associates, current enemies, in a virtual world where the price of loss was their bodies, and wanted to laugh.

Instead he calmly replied, "I'm not afraid. I'm Mokuba. Who are you?"

"My name is Noah." The aqua-haired boy pressed his face against the screen as if he were physically trapped inside the computer. "Hi, Mokuba."

"Hi." Mokuba gingerly shifted around in his chair. "Not to be too rude or anything… but _what_ are you? Are you stuck in the virtual world too?"

To his surprise, sadness flickered in Noah's eyes. Mokuba leaned closer to the screen involuntarily. This couldn't be a computer program, could it? How did they get it so real? Emotion shone through. If it wasn't real, it was a darn good fake; almost as good as anything Seto had produced.

"I… well, yes," Noah admitted. "Actually, I'm just stuck in this computer. If I had access to a terminal, _any_ terminal, I could get anywhere in the world. I _used_ to be able to. But… I think Gansley-"

"Gansley!" Mokuba interrupted. "Wait a second!" His mind was racing. What connection did this kid have with the Big 5? Was he, Mokuba, in any danger? And what had Lector said- about Noah-

"_We were imprisoned in cyberspace, doomed to wander around for eternity! We were lost, until Mister Noah made contact with KaibaCorp's mainframe computer, and we made our way here…"_

"You let the Big 5 loose!" Mokuba accused. He jumped out of the chair and began backing away from the computer, reaching behind him for the door. Were those robots still out there?

"Wait!" Noah pleaded, pressing his fingertips to the screen. "Please, listen to me! That was an accident! I had no idea who they were!"

Mokuba didn't speak. Quickly, he whirled around and reached for the lock.

"Mokuba, wait! You can't go out there! It's too dangerous!" Noah cried. "Come on, please- just hear me out!" Mokuba hesitated for a moment. "I can't hurt you," Noah continued urging. "All I ask is that you listen to what I have to say. Mokuba, you're my only chance to get out of here. You're my only chance to make things right."

Mokuba pressed his ear to the door. He didn't hear the rumble of the robots. Reluctantly, he turned around and moved closer to the computer.

"Good. Thank you," Noah said encouragingly. "Please, sit down."

Mokuba looked at the chair, but didn't move. _I still don't trust you_, he thought warily.

After a while, Noah began speaking.

xXx

For a while after Malik dove into the hole after Marik, he could see his partner spiraling down below. He tried to wave, but Marik was obviously enjoying the ride and didn't bother to look up. After a while, the tube split off, and though Malik scrambled to follow after Marik, he banged against the brightly illuminated sides and fell away. He was in the middle of making an annoyed face when the neon sides fell away and he landed with a giant splash in the middle of a lake.

"This is real nice," he said aloud, smacking his ear in attempt to dislodge water from it. "I wish the Pharaoh were here. That'd be even better." He heaved a sigh, briefly slipped underwater, and paddled frantically to regain his balance.

"Okay. Land," he said aloud. "Land ho! I need to find land. Either that or grow gills. Either that or learn to walk on water." He performed an ungraceful circle, noting that the closest shore was still pretty far away. It did not look like it would be a fun trip. Grumbling under his breath, Malik began stroking towards the solid ground, making annoyingly little headway.

And then something bonked him in the head.

"Ow!" he sputtered indignantly, turning to see what had been so rude. A log floated in front of his face, and he blinked warily. Not just a log… it was a raft.

"It's just because I'm so charming, I guess," he decided, pleased with himself. He clambered onto it and lay dripping for a while, feeling how good it was to relax. When he finally lifted his head and examined his surroundings, he came face to face with…

…a penguin.

He sat up fully and stared at the penguin. It stared back. Then he looked up. There were _more_ penguins!

"I'm finally home!" he squealed, enveloping the closest one in a big bear hug.

xXx

"I died a few years ago. Maybe six. I've lost track of time in here," Noah said bluntly. Obviously, he wanted to catch Mokuba's attention, and he did; the black-haired boy's eyes widened and he grabbed onto the back of the chair.

"My father tried to save me by putting me into his company's mainframe computer. So my essence became computerized and I lived in the cyber world. But after a while, my dad stopped paying attention to me. Everyone did. No one even knew I existed. Until, one day…" Noah hesitated. "I had learned to get into any computer system in the world. I could do a lot. And I became aware of other people like me. Completely computerized and living in a deeper level of cyberspace. They couldn't get out. So I uploaded them onto the main computer frame here, in my father's company's base. I thought it would be great and that I would finally have company."

He swallowed onscreen. "But shortly after I brought them back, I realized I recognized them. They used to work for my father as business associates before I died! I could tell that they were up to no good – they headed straight for my dad's old weapons files, since they're all here, on this base. They wanted to control the weapons from the cyber world and get back into power again."

Noah hesitated. "But then something weird happened. I was trying to stop them, to deprogram the weapons, to do something. But about a year ago, all the electronics in the world just shut down. Died. Each terminal was isolated; we couldn't go anywhere except this system. At least the Big 5 couldn't reach the outside world anymore. They locked me away in this one tiny computer and pulled the plug. And now I have no idea what they might be plotting."

Mokuba remained very still. Automatically, his eyes traveled to the monitor. It stood on its own, not plugged into any outer sources, completely self-contained.

Could Noah be telling the truth? His story made sense. About a year ago, when all the power went out – that was when Marik and Bakura had taken over the world. And all the timing fit, with the Big 5 being trapped by Yugi and Yami and Seto. So Noah had accidentally released them, but Marik and Bakura had foiled their plans.

_Until Different Dimension Dragon brought us here… to this hidden base… and the Big 5 brought my five friends to the computer world!_

He relayed the basics to Noah quickly. "And they said they were going to duel them, and the winners got their bodies!" Mokuba finished, upset. "But why are they letting them duel in the first place?"

"That one's simple," Noah said grimly. "I wrote a program that prevented them from escaping this world without an honest contract. I guess they found a loophole- by bullying your friends into dueling. But how did you all end up here in the first place?"

Mokuba hesitated; he'd glossed over that bit. "I'll explain later," he finally said. "But I need your help right now."

"I'm not much use all alone in here," Noah replied immediately. "Are you any good with computers?"

"I am," Mokuba responded positively. "My big brother is president of KaibaCorp, the largest gaming company in the world! He taught me everything I… are you okay?"

Onscreen, Noah had gone dead white against the background. "…president of KaibaCorp?" he asked weakly.

Mokuba furrowed his brow. _Wait a second…_ Noah had mentioned that his father owned this base, and the company that the Big 5 were employed under. As far as he knew, that could only be one corporation.

"What was your father's name, Noah?" he asked urgently, pressing his hand against the screen. Noah touched it sadly, trying to feel the warmth of human flesh again.

"Gozaburo Kaiba," Noah finally managed to answer softly. Mokuba felt his knees grow weak.

xXx

Serenity sat on the cliff's edge, swinging her feet into the air. "This place isn't so bad," she said aloud, glancing around. She was looking out over a large lake, so big she could barely see the opposite shore. The sun warmed her back and the grass tickled her legs. It was a long way down to the lake from this buff, but she wasn't frightened because the slope was so gentle. "Nice view." She wished Joey were here. This was the kind of thing he'd fought so hard to give her: sights as beautiful as this.

Over the gentle shifting of the water, and the caw of birds, something else floated to her ears. She peered out at the lake. A raft was floating by, propelled by some unseen force. It was from this raft that that strange noise was emitting; those wild hoots and crazy laughter.

She squinted. "Oh dear Lord," she said aloud, grabbing two fistfuls of her red hair and yanking them in front of her eyes. "Why me? Why do I have to be associated with this?" she moaned aloud.

Malik was the one on the raft making the noises. And he was dancing with penguins.

"You know him, my dear?"

She jerked, then scrambled to her feet. One of the men from before was standing there, shifting his glasses and peering intently at her.

Serenity clenched her fists. He'd come here to duel her, to try and steal her body. But for the moment, he was ignoring her. He looked out over the water at Malik, raising an eyebrow at the young man's antics. "Fascinating," he murmured. "I suppose he's going to see Gansley. The two of them should get along quite well." He laughed to himself.

Serenity scanned the ground quickly, wondering if she could make an escape. It was too far to jump into the lake, but she might be able to break past him on the right-

"I'm Johnson, by the way," the man said suddenly, refocusing on her. "Former legal counsel to KaibaCorp. Future master of the world." He laughed again, a low, amused chuckle.

"You want my body," Serenity said flatly, crossing her arms.

He eyed her. "Well, I have to admit, it wouldn't be well-suited for my goals. But I plan to use you as a stepping stone, if you will. Once I have a body- any body, weak and female though it may be- I can find a new one, more appropriate for myself." He placed his briefcase down, where it opened on its own and shone a blinding white. Serenity reflexively threw an arm up in front of her face; when she lowered it, Johnson was gone and a Duel Monster was standing in his place.

"Meet Judge Man," the Duel Monster said in Johnson's voice, and Serenity realized in a flash that Johnson had assumed the Monster's shape; presumably for the inevitable duel. "I will serve as my own Deck Master, if you please. If you would be so kind as to pick your cards-" like magic, they began scrolling in front of her eyes- "we will begin."

Serenity stared at him uncertainly before tightening her face and lifting her chin. She wasn't very good at Duel Monsters… _but I won't lose this one_, she vowed. Joey and Mai had both taught her a lot about the game. She wasn't about to let them down. _Once I win, I'll go find the others!_ she planned determinedly. _Maybe even Malik._


	15. Chapter 15

Atakku

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Notes: First of all, I AM SO INCREDIBLY SORRY FOR NEGLECTING THIS STORY FOR SO LONG. I'm sorrier than you think – I didn't take sufficient notes on the plotline, and it has been hell to muddle through the timeline and my plan for the ending. But I truly apologize to you readers (those of you who are left, anyway).

Secondly, I HAVE FINISHED THIS STORY. Frankly, I'm stunned, but yes, I really have. I always wanted to – this arc was the biggest story project I've ever tackled and I was always been determined to finish it someday… and someday has finally arrived. Expect regular updates (at least weekly) unless something tragic happens to me. There are 28 total chapters plus an epilogue!

A BRIEF summary for those of you who haven't read this in years, but are thinking "what the hell, might as well finish it anyway", although to be honest I would recommend at least skimming the beginning of this story:

When Sakakku (the prequel) began, Marik and Bakura had taken over the world, splitting from Ryou and Malik and imprisoning them. Yami and Yugi's lives were saved by Mako Tsunami; they went into hiding in the desert and also split bodies. A year later, all our protagonists began meeting up with each other and fighting back (also befriending a magician named Geoff and a girl named Ezra with a pet jackal). It was discovered that the true villains were not Marik and Bakura, but the God Cards, for anyone who holds all three simultaneously will be corrupted by their dark influence. Everyone meets up in Akuma, where Yami persuades Marik to reject the evil of the God Cards; Marik tears Ra's card in half, accidentally unleashing him upon the world.

At the start of this story, most of the group flees Akuma and takes refuge in Pegasus's castle. Téa and Odion are trapped inside Ra's palace, where he enslaves them in retribution for the enslavement of Duel Monsters by humans. Ra releases all the Duel Monster Cards that he can find, planning to make earth a Monsters-only zone. What Ra doesn't realize is that some cards understand and respect humans. These Monsters form a rebellion in the forest; Weevil Underwood, Rex Raptor, and Espa Roba, who have been lost in the wilderness, meet up with one of these Monsters (Mystical Elf). Mako Tsunami and his friend Aura were traveling to find Yugi when they were swept up in a lake as Umi, a Field Card, is Summoned. They are trapped underwater thanks to Swords of Revealing Light.

Meanwhile, the group in Pegasus's castle forms a plan. Yami recreates his Ancient Egyptian counsel, with himself, Joey, Mai, Ryou, Bakura, and Kimo carrying the Millennium Puzzle, Key, Necklace, Ring, Eye, and Scales respectively. Seto Kaiba is also on the counsel, although his item, the Millennium Rod, is lost in Akuma. The seven of them will travel to Akuma to battle Ra. They leave the others behind, but Different Dimension Dragon escapes Seto's deck and ends up with Mokuba, who accidentally activates its power. He, Yugi, Serenity, Ezra, Malik, and Marik are taken to a building in an alternate reality where there are computers (which were, in their world, long ago shut down by Marik and Bakura). Everyone except Mokuba is sucked into the virtual world where they will have to battle the Big 5 for their bodies. Mokuba logs into the computer system and meets Noah Kaiba.

The party of 7 travels swiftly towards Akuma, not without running into trouble. Mai has a vision of the entire group suffering – she with a broken neck, Bakura dying from infection, Joey and Seto also dying from unknown ailments, and Kimo lost. Her vision appears to be coming true as her neck is broken by one of Ra's servants, and Bakura has a nasty cut on his face.

Without further ado, let us RESUME the story!

(Dear "Ezra": I switched your preferred Deck Master and beg your pardon, but I kept your deck intact from when you gave it to me, erm, years ago. If you even remember that.)

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Chapter 15

xXx

Marik couldn't find Malik; they'd split up in the enjoyment of the ride into the virtual world. Marik fell through the tube with a gigantic splash in the middle of a river, and staggered towards the shore, suddenly wet and not having as much fun. "Egypt, how I miss thee," he said aloud, ignoring the gray-haired man standing a few feet away and glaring at him. "Especially when I ruled thee."

"You won't be ruling anything anymore. You'll be trapped here in cyber-space: Once I duel you and win, _I'll_ take over your body!"

Marik continued to ignore him, elaborately studying his nails. "Should I grow them out?" he wondered aloud. "I could sharpen them to a point if they were longer, and stab anyone who comes near me. Bakura would be so jealous. His knife would look so lame in comparison."

"Choose your deck and let's begin!" snapped the impatient older man, suddenly shifting forms to a bizarre sea monster. Despite himself, Marik was impressed: He'd always secretly wanted green skin.

Dueling cards began flashing before him. Marik blinked, before irritably shooing them away. "I don't want to _duel_," he whined. "I didn't have to when I was ruler of Egypt. We had _guards_ for that. Where are the Rare Hunters now? I'm bored."

"Don't want to duel? Does that mean you forfeit?" the man-slash-sea monster asked, his greedy eyes suddenly gleaming beneath his dark helmet.

"Uh, _no_," Marik told him condescendingly. "It just means I don't want to do my own dirty work. So I suggest you find me some Rare Hunters or something. Now, please?" He folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

The man moved closer, stretching out his newly-webbed fingers at Marik's body. He slapped the fingers away with a look of disgust on his face.

"Hands to yourself, please," he admonished. "Okay, fine, if you're not going to get me any Rare Hunters, why don't we try a different kind of duel?

"What do you mean? There won't be a different kind! This is _my_ home, fool. We play by my rules!"

But while Gansley was lecturing him, Marik was scouring the ground. He triumphantly picked up a stick and broke it across his leg, revealing a jagged edge. "Come on!" he said, with an insane grin. "Let's fight like this!"

xXx

"My father's name was Gozaburo Kaiba," Noah repeated.

"My name is Mokuba Kaiba," Mokuba replied softly. "My brother Seto and I were adopted a few years ago by Gozaburo. He died, and Seto took over the company." _He never mentioned he had a son_, he wanted to say, but Noah looked frail enough as it was. Even though he was computerized.

Noah looked away. The screen blurred for a moment, and Mokuba was afraid he was leaving, but then the resolution strengthened. Noah lifted his chin. "He forgot about me. Now he's gone, and it's time I forgot about him."

_That's the spirit_, Mokuba nearly cheered, but once again held back. Horrible though Gozaburo had been, Noah was still his son. And now, by some bizarre twist of fate, the two Kaibas were being thrown together. How could Seto _not_ believe in destiny?

"Noah, my friends are going to have to duel the Big 5 if we don't do something quickly!"

"Plug me in!" Noah responded immediately. Mokuba's eyes darted to the lonely outlet, and he leapt off the chair, sticking the computer cord into the electrical outlet.

"Okay. How is this going to help?" he asked breathlessly, returning to the chair.

"I can find your friends on video," Noah said absently, his eyes growing more distant. "It will just take me a while to reconnect to the main computer frame."

"All right." Mokuba bounced his leg nervously, eyeing the door. Those robots were still out there somewhere. Were they still looking for him?

Although he didn't want to distract Noah, he couldn't help but relay this information. Noah looked worried, but didn't respond with words. Instead, white lines began flying across the screen. "I'm searching for data," Noah finally explained. "I just shut the robots off."

"You just… what? Wow!" Mokuba, despite the seriousness of the situation, was impressed. "That was fast. Especially since you've been out of contact with them for so long."

Again, Noah didn't respond, but this time images began flashing onscreen. A forest, a cave, a meadow, some buildings… nothing too exciting, until a quick shot of a deranged blonde boy wielding a stick at a green sea creature, the outline of the man beneath superimposed on the computer screen.

"Gansley," Noah said with disgust.

"Marik," Mokuba said, almost with equal disgust.

"Gansley is going to try to get your friend to duel him," Noah realized. "I might be able to stop him."

"How?" Mokuba questioned eagerly. This might be even easier than he'd thought!

"A program. Hold on." The screen vibrated, and the same white lines of computer print reappeared over the image of Marik and Gansley. "I'm immobilizing Gansley," Noah explained, his voice coming from far away.

xXx

Yugi stared at the strange man who called himself Nesbit. He vaguely remembered the man's face – unsmiling and unfriendly – but it didn't matter now. He was hidden behind his Deck Master, Robotic Knight. Yugi's gaze shifted to the rows of cards scrolling in front of him. He saw the Dark Magician, and smiled. He reached out to touch it, then hesitated. It was truly Yami's card. They were split now, more than ever before – Yugi was entirely on his own. It was time to pick a card that really represented him, and him alone.

No one else would really understand his choice. Seto Kaiba would probably have a heart attack. "As my Deck Master," Yugi announced, touching the desired card, "I choose Kuriboh."

xXx

Serenity's eyes flashed with vexation as, halfway through the duel, Johnson took the lead. He sneered at her, but underneath the Judgeman's mask, he was afraid. Who would have thought this girl could duel as she was doing? He could tell by the way she held her cards that she wasn't used to it; and she would stare at her hand for a long time, as if the cards were unfamiliar or she couldn't remember their attributes. Her deck was sloppily put together, with Monsters of all different specialties; she had all the appearance of a complete amateur. But her chin was up, her eyes were flashing, and up until now she had been _winning_ with her illogical strategies. What was going on?

Serenity glanced up at her Deck Master, Harpy Lady, to reassure her. She had picked cards that reminded her of Mai and Joey, and even Yugi; though they were of a scattered sort, just like the people they reminded her of, they fit well together. She was having a little difficulty with the cards, simply because she was not used to the visual sight of them. Mai had described them all to her during the year they lived together, and now she was faced with the difficult task of matching the appearance with the description. So far, she was doing fairly – but she needed to do better than fair. She needed to _win. _And she knew she could – because her friends were still their in her heart.

Suddenly her eyes locked on her Deck Master – of course! The Deck Masters had special abilities!

"I send two cards from my hand to the graveyard," Serenity announced, sliding two weaker Monsters into the discard slot. "That allows me to activate Harpy Lady's Deck Master ability and summon Harpy's Pet Dragon!"

The Monster appeared, beautiful and deadly, roaring. Was it her imagination, or did Johnson draw back slightly? "And I activate the Magic card Dragon Nails, to raise its attack power," she said decisively, pressing the button to release Dragon Nails, a card that Joey once had. As the numbers clicked up, she allowed herself a grin. Johnson was _definitely_ leaning back.

xXx

Ezra drew her opening hand, lifting her eyes to her opponent. From the time the man who called himself Lecter had appeared in front of her, challenging her to a duel, he had been wearing a sketchy trenchcoat and hat that covered all his features.

"All right," she said, tensing up and preparing for a battle. "I choose Mystical Knight of Jackal as my Deck Master!" Her Deck Master rose up, a big, muscular, two-legged, male version of her beloved Anuba. She allowed a smile to flit across her lips, but it changed to a worried frown when she remembered that her jackal had followed Yami and Seto into the wilderness. A glance at the Knight of Jackal reassured her; she had chosen her Deck Master for the familiar comfort it provided.

Lecter showed no reaction, though the muscled jackal Monster was certainly intimidating. "Then let the duel begin with your first move," he said coldly.

Ezra did a double-take. "What? But-" with a grimace, she asked the question she knew he wanted her to: "Where's your Deck Master?"

Though she couldn't see it, she could tell he was smirking. "I _am_ my Deck Master," he merely replied.

She squinted under that stupid hat and dark glasses, but couldn't make out any features. She clenched her jaw in determination; she wouldn't rise to his bait and ask what he was supposed to be; he wouldn't tell her anyway. "Then let the game begin," she said tightly. Mystical Knight of Jackal let out a short, sharp cry that reminded her of Anuba's bark, and with a smirk, Ezra placed her first card on the field.

xXx

"All right!" Rex cheered as they, at long last, caught sight of a settlement through the trees. Mystical Elf had led Rex, Weevil, and Espa into a forest and under the cover of tall, dark trees. The settlement was well hidden from the air, as it ought to be: this was the general resistance to Ra's rule, the 'rebels', and they had found themselves a proper hide-out.

"Everyone's so busy," Espa said wonderingly as human and Duel Monster alike darted at top speed around the camp. In one corner, several Spellcaster Monsters stood with their hands clasped. Magic and Trap cards popped in and out of the air as the Spellcasters chanted. Other Monsters, looking like Ground and Warrior Types, stood in a line, grabbing weapons that the Spellcasters Summoned for them. Flying Monsters sharpened their talons, Special Effect Monsters practiced using their abilities with top speed, Earth Monsters dug trenches that Water Monsters filled with liquid, for those of them that needed to swim, and Fire Monsters roasted each other in attempt to find out what they could give and what they could take. Everywhere underfoot, the humans that had practiced battle tactics for years with their beloved cards dashed about giving advice and ordering formations and suggesting Magic/Monster combinations.

Rex's jaw hit the ground. A sideways glance revealed that his companions were doing the same. A thought stuck him, and he turned around, but he couldn't see the guards that he knew must be forming a perimeter around the rebel camp. He gulped, very glad that they were with Mystical Elf.

Weevil turned eagerly to talk to Mystical Elf, and came nose-to-chest with a Zombie-type that Rex didn't recognize.

"Mystical Elf tells me you are willing to join the resistance," the Zombie said with a smile that just looked wrong on its dead face.

"I believe someone did promise that," Rex said, staring pointedly at Weevil, but the jibe was mistaken for sincerity.

"We're glad to have you!" the Zombie said enthusiastically. Weevil opened his mouth, and snapped it shut when Mystical Elf re-appeared.

"I've informed the leader of your arrival," she said with a smile. "You are most welcome here. I'm afraid that I haven't explained quite enough of our delicate situation… would you like to sit somewhere and talk?"

"YES!" Weevil nearly bellowed.

xXx

Joey stormed angrily through the woods, fuming about being forced to leave Mai. He wasn't even paying that much attention to finding Kimo; his mind was absorbed with worry. He moved faster and faster, distracted, letting his thoughts run rampant. Finally, they began to slow, and he calmed down enough to agree with Yami that it was better for him to get away from Mai, at least for a while. When he was so frantic about her, he didn't pay any attention to his surround-

_Aaaah!_

Joey was yanked from his thoughts by a blast of cold mush to his face. _A Trap_, he realized as he tried to back away. _I stepped on a Trap Card!_ A painful mixture of snow and hair blasted his face, his arms, his chest. He staggered and nearly fell over. _Driving Snow, by the look of it._ He groped for his deck, looking for a card, any card, that could help. But his hand never reached his pocket; both were covered with a thick layer of ice. He stumbled, fell, face-down in a growing heap of snow. The cold was burning; his whole body was numb. His thoughts were sluggish, and finally he couldn't think at all. He just lay, paralyzed and freezing, while the snow heaped on. And over time, as the cold penetrated his flesh and seeped into his blood, his heart began to slow.

xXx

Bakura moved silently through the forest; he would be damned if any Duel Monsters tried to attack him and deter him from his goal. As far as he was concerned, the sooner he found Kimo, the sooner they could go back to the campsite and the less time Ryou was left alone.

He squinted, assuming that it was getting harder to see because it was growing darker. But the sun had only barely started to set. That didn't account for the blurriness –

Grimacing, he touched his right eye. The flesh was swollen to monstrous proportions. He swore to himself; he had trained himself to ignore physical discomforts, but now that he was aware of the injury again, it was impossible to ignore.

Obviously the infection wasn't going away.


	16. Chapter 16

Atakku

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Note: I'm taking a bit of liberty with the Ancient Egypt plot line, in the hopes of smoothing things out, so I just hope I didn't make things too confusing! And remember Mai's vision from Chapter 9? This is it.

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Chapter 16

xXx

"Okay. So. Some poisonous insects or snakes or something must have been stuck on the inside when the shadow-barrier went up, right? So, we go out and catch a snake with a net. A net with a very long pole. Then we take that steak, dangle it inside the net, and the snake bites it and injects it with venom. Then we serve it to Ra, and bam! That's the end of it."

Odion looked up from seasoning the steak and smiled at Téa. "You're very creative, but I don't believe you could find it in your heart to kill anyone."

Téa made a face. She was finished assisting Odion and now sat on the counter, head propped up by her palms, plotting more and more unusual ways to get rid of Ra.

"I don't know," she said finally, her face dark and her voice low. "If he were hurting my friends, I think I could."

Odion looked slightly alarmed, like he hadn't meant for the conversation to go this far. "I know what you mean," he said slowly. "But… I can't…" he heaved a frustrated sigh. "Something about this situation just doesn't seem right. Ra… well, what he's doing to us. Is it really any different than what we've done to Monsters for the last several thousand years?"

Téa sighed. She had, indeed, thought about this. Cooking was a much better deal than being forced into battle. "It _was_ different, though," she said. "It was never the real Monsters we had fighting each other. We only managed to Summon up half-impressions of them. As a matter of fact, after the Pharaoh's rule ended, we couldn't Summon them at all until the Millennium Items resurfaced and their Magic started penetrating the Shadow Realm."

Odion looked up, startled. "Is that what happened?"

"Ra explained a little to me, when I went outside to look for poisonous snakes," Téa said matter-of-factly.

Odion just looked at her.

"I'm not actually joking. He told me that he was going to get rid of all the asps in the castle, unless I wanted one in my bed at night, and that I should get my butt back inside before something bit it."

"Does Ra… have a sense of humor?" Odion questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"I know," Téa sighed. "I've been thinking of him as just another Duel Monster… I've always thought of them as 'just' Duel Monsters. But they all have emotions, dreams, motives of their own. Some of them even have a sense of humor. _Was_ it right, all those years, to keep them trapped in the Shadow Realm?" She bit her lip, then continued talking.

"See, from what I've gathered, it seems that all these Monsters come from the Shadow Realm. Thousands of years ago, in ancient Egypt, magicians started releasing the Monsters for their own bloodthirsty purposes, but the Millennium Items were created to seal the Monsters back in. And then there was a permanent link established between the Millennium Items and the power to travel between realms. It lay dormant for many centuries, and then the Pharaoh was reborn so the power re-surfaced, and Marik and Bakura started using the Items to Summon again. Now it's easy for someone as strong as Ra to move himself, or other beings, between realms. And thanks to Marik, Ra is here, so he can do all that."

Odion gave a low whistle and finished preparing the steak. "At least we know why this is all happening," he said thoughtfully. "And how. I still find it hard to muster up true hatred for Ra. He believes in his cause."

"I expected something like that from the man who stood by Marik," Téa said cynically. At his protest, she shook her head. "No, but I do understand. I still find Ra infuriating, though," she grumbled. "That smells really good. Did you have to make him such a good dinner?"

Odion grinned. "I couldn't help it; I like to cook. It was compulsive." He delivered this with such a straight face that Téa had to laugh. "Anyway, I thought it might be a good idea to make ourselves irreplaceable," he added truthfully. "Ra is still being very liberal with sending humans to the Shadow Realm."

Téa arched her eyebrows, and nodded.

"Can you bring the tray to Ra?" Odion asked.

"I'll try to do it as irreplaceably as possible," teased Téa, picking up the tray quickly to hide her reluctance.

xXx

Seto wasn't sure what first made him aware of the… the _thing_. It wasn't a sound, it definitely wasn't a sight – it was more a feeling. A rush of coldness – or maybe that was just the freezing breeze that the Trap sent out.

But he could tell that something was wrong; something magical had just been activated, and it was bad. Expecting it to be Kimo, he veered sharply to his left. After a few steps, he could tell that the cold wasn't his imagination; there was definitely a temperature difference, carried on the wind.

He followed the gust as the temperature plummeted, and suddenly his next step landed him ankle-deep in snow. He glanced down in surprise; the presence of snow here took him by surprise. What was going on?

The heap of snow was maybe ten by fifteen feet long, piled at least four feet high, and growing as more snow seemed to magically appear and heap on. Suspicious, Seto was in the process of backing away, when a thought occurred to him: What if Kimo were under there?!

Immediately, ignoring the icy bite of the snow on his exposed hands, he went to work scooping the snow away. He quickly realized that there _was _a person under there, but it wasn't Kimo; it was Wheeler.

_Should have known_, he almost joked to himself, but he was too preoccupied with digging Joey out. The snow was piling on almost as fast as he could dig; whenever he cleared Wheeler's head and began working on his torso, more snow would add on to Joey's head. Seto's hands went numb fast, and after several minutes, they began to ache with a deep, painful throbbing. Seto paid them no attention, now frantic with worry; Joey had been under there so long, it would be a miracle if he got him out alive. Wheeler could easily freeze to death first.

Finally, Seto loosened the snow enough to get a firm grip under Wheeler's armpits, and drag him away from the Trap. Driving Snow was still raging as Seto staggered away from it. Seto got Joey out of sight of the Trap, and downwind, so the cold air didn't wash over them. Grimly, Seto began pounding the snow off Joey's body. It was caked in – into his hair, his clothes, even icing over his eyelashes. Joey's flesh was blue.

"Come on, Wheeler," Seto said firmly, rubbing his own freezing hands over Joey's cheeks. Grimacing to himself, he reached down Joey's shirt and began massaging his chest, trying to warm up the area around his heart. His spirits began to sink as Joey didn't respond, but believing firmly that Wheeler was still breathing slightly, he kept up his ministrations.

After several long minutes, Joey stirred. Seto's tense body bowed with relief. He resisted the urge to pull away; he kept trying to warm Joey.

It was nearly half an hour before Seto, exhausted, removed his hands and wrapped Joey's clothes tightly around him. "Wheeler, I'm going to need you to wake up now."

As if in response to Seto's curt command, Joey's eyes fluttered open. His eyes were out of focus and hazy; they wandered around for a moment, and finally settled on Kaiba.

"Kaiba. You dug me out?" Joey forced out, with obvious effort. His words were slurred; the cold had slowed his mind as well as his tongue. Any other time, Seto would have been tempted to make a joke about it.

His own mind, always razor-sharp, quickly ran through the possibilities. Obviously, Joey was in no state to walk. He couldn't just leave Wheeler here to die. (Well, technically he _could_, but they did need the Key he wore.) He could always go fetch Yami from the camp, but that would take time, he'd have to leave the other boy here alone in the wilderness, still freezing; besides, what could Yami do that he couldn't? Coming to a conclusion, Seto tentatively bent over and scooped Joey up, grimacing a little as his knees temporarily buckled under the weight. He expected vehement protests, but when he looked at Wheeler, he'd passed out again.

Seto was tired, but determined not to give up. He paused, to get his bearings, and staggered off in the direction of their makeshift camp. Quickly, Joey's dead weight and his own fatigue became a burden he almost couldn't carry. The forest was thick around them, and he had to push his way through bushes. Something ripped through his clothing, and stung his arm. The pain was so intense it knocked him straight out of his lethargic haze. Seto spun around, nearly dropping Joey, and saw that he was face-to-face with a Man Eater.

The poisonous plant opened its disgusting jaws, eerie pink petals ready to clamp over his face. Seto didn't have time to react.

xXx

Marik lunged forward, planting his stick through Gansley's stomach. To his mild disappointment, it slid right through and then out again, not leaving a mark.

"Stupid holographic world," he grumbled, before remembering that this was a different sort of holographic world. He'd gotten wet, and that had been real, because he was still dripping. He took a closer look at Gansley. The man's face, still in the shape of the green sea creature, had contorted into rage, and his body was flickering in and out. It had lost all substance, and now looked like several lines of code making up a vague figure. As much as Gansley tried to move, he couldn't.

As long as Gansley was just standing there, Marik put his stick through various parts of the man's body before getting bored.

"What's the matter with you?" he demanded, breaking the stick in half.

Suddenly, a voice filtered through the air.

"Noah, maybe you should have just left Marik alone and tried to save Serenity or someone."

"Brat?" Marik said aloud.

"He can hear me?" Mokuba's voice came from nowhere again, sounding surprised.

"Yes," a new voice said apologetically. "I just opened a channel. I thought you would want to talk to him."

"No," Mokuba said, disgruntled. "He'll be fine. Can you find my other friends? Look for Serenity; I don't think she's ever dueled before. And Ezra and Yugi."

"I'm not going to be fine," Marik said, not because it was true but because he felt like being contrary. "You're not very nice to me, Mokuba. What have I ever done to you?"

"_You tried to kill my brother and all my friends_!" Mokuba yelled, in Marik's opinion far too loudly.

"I thought we were over that!" Marik whined, stomping his foot. "Pharaoh forgave me! You're not allowed to hold a grudge."

There was silence, and Gansley's flickering eyes stared at Marik. Marik picked up the broken stick and threw it at him again. Finally, Mokuba spoke again. "Fine. Well, Noah saved you. Try to find Malik while Noah and I search for the others, okay?"

"Who's Noah?" Marik asked immediately.

"I'm sorry, Mokuba," said the unfamiliar voice, but it was weak, as if traveling from a far way off. "I opened the connection between me and Gansley. I don't have enough power to tackle another one, and if I release Gansley now, he'll get into my computer and turn those robots back on."

Marik raised his eyebrows at Mokuba's impressive vocabulary. The younger boy apparently had been listening to Marik and Malik.

When Mokuba stopped swearing, he asked, "Can you at least get them on video? So I know how their duels are going?"

"I think so. I can try," the voice – Noah? – said weakly.

There was more silence as, apparently, Mokuba and Noah loaded videos in the control center. Eventually, Mokuba spoke again. "Isn't there anything we can do?" he asked despairingly. "To stop the duels?"

"I can't get in there without unleashing Gansley," Noah said regretfully.

"If you need help, just say the word," Marik said sweetly.

xXx

Bakura's head was now reeling as the infection coursed through his face. He stumbled, mostly by blind luck, near the campsite. Still making a determined effort to keep safe, he noticed a Man Eater Monster, its pink petals poor camouflage, and veered around it. Then he heard a ruckus from the forest behind him, and turned just in time to watch Seto Kaiba blunder directly into the poisonous plant. With some amount of irritation, he pulled out his Headless Knight and sent it to attack Man Eater. Already dead, it was immune to the poison, and easily vanquished the other Monster.

Kaiba eyed Headless Knight, vaguely wishing he could have been saved by something a little less hideous. But his thoughts weren't really coherent; he felt like he was about to faint. Spotting their campfire, he stumbled the last few yards into the clearing, dropping Joey and collapsing himself.

"Joey! Kaiba!" Yami cried, springing up from his vigilant watch. "Bakura!" he added as the third man came into the clearing. "What happened? Did you find Kimo?"

"No, Pharaoh," Bakura spat out even as his mouth swelled up. "We're all almost dead, in fact. I'm the only one able to even talk any more."

Ryou ran over in horror. "Your face!" he gasped.

"Turns out the cut was infected after all," Bakura said, trying to fake a smile for Ryou's benefit. But the entire right side of his face was throbbing; he could barely think any more. "I think Man Eater got Kaiba," he choked out. Abruptly, he collapsed as well, leaving Ryou and Yami standing in horror.

"Joey's flesh is freezing," Ryou said, his eyes watering, as he knelt down and felt his friend.

"Drag him near the fire," Yami ordered absently, crouching by Kaiba and searching for a wound. He finally found a small cut on his upper arm. It looked fine and harmless, but if Bakura was right, Kaiba only had a few minutes to live. Man Eater's venom, secreted in its poisonous feelers, was extremely potent and would course through his bloodstream rapidly. Yami had never felt so helpless before. Not even amputation would save him, even if he could ensure that Kaiba would survive the process: by now, the poison had left his arm and was penetrating his heart. Eyes watering, Yami stood. Ryou was rushing around, gathering all of their blankets to wrap Joey up tightly. Almost angrily, Yami snatched one up and settled it over Kaiba. "It's not a proper burial, but it's all I can give you, my friend," he murmured.

Ryou glanced over as he was tucking Joey in, making sure that the blankets didn't catch on fire but that Joey was as close to the heat as he could possibly be. "What's wrong with Kaiba?"

"He's dead," Yami said shortly.

Ryou nearly fell over. "Dead! What? No!"

"He will be, in about a minute," Yami amended. "Man Eater poison acts extremely quickly. He's already in a coma and – and he'll never wake up," he finished bitterly.

Ryou's eyes filled with tears that spilled over and ran down his cheeks. "What – what about Bakura?" he asked in a quavery voice.

Yami clenched his jaw. What could he say? Bakura's infection would only spread, eventually killing him. With the complete absence of medicine or even medical techniques, they were completely vulnerable; there was nothing they could do. "Will Joey live?" he asked instead.

Ryou understood that this meant Joey was the only one they could potentially save. He swallowed. "He's so cold," he said. "He needs the heat. I'll – I'll go get some more wood." He hurried into the fringe of the forest. Anuba gave a piteous whimper, and crawled next to the ragged heap that would mark Seto Kaiba's grave, staring into the forest. Yami walked over to Mai and examined her; no change. Her neck was broken and, once again, he was helpless. They would have to leave her here – that is, if they ever found the strength to go on again.

Ryou hurried back, dumping wood on the fire. He sneezed; Yami looked up sharply. "Don't _you_ get sick, Ryou," he said grimly. "You're the last one left to help me."

Ryou bit his lip and glanced at all his injured friends. "Bakura, please don't leave me," he choked, then quickly turned his attention back to the fire, fanning the flames. It was a desperate attempt to save Joey: the only one who _could _be saved anymore.


	17. Chapter 17

Atakku

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Notes: In the virtual world episodes, Johnson and Lecter employ very specific strategies against Joey and Seto; in this story, they employ pretty much the same strategies against Serenity and Ezra. (There is a method to my madess!) And remember (because I didn't, until I looked it up) that in the Virtual World, they duel with 4000 life points.

I use the real Deck Master ability for Judge Man although I made up Harpy Lady's a few chapters ago and Mystical Knight of Jackal's in this one (based on the actual card's special ability). All cards are real, feel free to look them up; the only exception is "Sinister Justice", which is used by Johnson in the show. Ezra's deck was given to me (ages and ages ago) by the person she is based off of. In general, the virtual world chapters are probably more enjoyable if you know anything about the card's abilities. I'm proud of myself for pulling these scenes – actually, this _story_ – off after a years-long YuGiOh hiatus.

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Chapter 17

xXx

Serenity grimaced. She felt like she had made a beginner's mistake and should have been more prepared, but in her defense, Johnson had never really explained the rules to her, nor told her what his Deck Master's ability was. She almost felt like yelling "I object". Johnson had just revealed that his Deck Master allowed him to lower his life-points by 1000 in exchange for destroying all of Serenity's Monsters. In addition, for every Monster destroyed, Serenity lost 500 life-points. She'd put out her three best Monsters at once, going out of her way to sacrifice Winged Dragon for Dark Witch. The Witch had joined Harpy's Pet Dragon and Lady Panther on the field, and they had plowed through Johnson's defenses. Serenity thought she was on the verge of winning when he activated Judge Man's ability; now she was down to 1800 life points… but Johnson only had 400! Then again, he didn't seem worried. In fact, he looked rather smug.

A faint urge to yell "I object" again niggled at her. Well, Johnson was treating this more like a trial than a duel. He kept making statements like "The counsel presents…" before unleashing a Monster and "The trial has only begun; the verdict awaits." Johnson was slimy and played dirty, though, like not explaining his Deck Master's ability; he gave lawyers a bad name. His concept of justice was twisted… it was sinister…

_Now why did I think that?_ Serenity wondered briefly. Sinister… it wasn't a word frequent in her vocabulary. Justice that was sinister…

"I play Polymerization, to fuse Curtain of the Dark Ones and Mystical Elf into Camion Wizard," Johnson announced. Serenity bit her lip, but thought she could deal with this new Monster; after all, it only had 1300 attack points, and it couldn't attack her the turn it was Summoned anyway.

"I place one card face-down on the field, and I activate Sinister Justice!" Johnson announced. Serenity realized instantly that this was what she had been thinking of, and her heart skipped a beat. She should have known that he would have this courtroom card in his deck. Sinister Justice, she remembered Mai explaining, would allow his Fusion Monster to attack at once, and it would give him an 800 life-point boost each time it did attack. She was in trouble now; she wouldn't last much longer, and Johnson would only grow stronger. And she didn't have a Monster on the field to intercept this first attack!

As Camion Wizard attacked Serenity directly, she felt the blow land heavily across her chest. Gasping, she staggered back and almost fell over, forcing herself to regain her balance when she realized how close she was to the edge of the cliff. Her life-points were down to 500 now, and Johnson's shot up to 1200. She ignored Johnson's taunt of "I find you guilty of poor dueling!" and drew her next card quickly, almost desperately. Gemini Elf! It was a strong Monster, considering that it didn't require a tribute, and she was about to play it when her eyes fell on Johnson's face-down card and she hesitated.

It could be _anything_. It could be a Magic card that Johnson planned to use later. Or it could be a Trap. It could be something that would wipe out one of her Magic or Trap cards, or something that would target her Monsters. What if he had something that would prevent her from putting a Monster on the field? Serenity knew there was a card called Bottomless Trap Hole that would suck up any Monster with over 1500 attack points, and there had to be others like it. A single wrong move would cost her the match before she had time to blink; this move, the most important of the duel, would decide whether she kept her body or not.

_Well, what other options do I have_? Serenity wondered. If she was worried about Johnson destroying a stronger Monster, she had Shadow Tamer. It was a weak Monster with only 800 attack points, but maybe she could power it up with an equipment card. Actually… she frowned. She was holding Cyber Shield, but Mai had only ever mentioned it being used in combination with Harpy Lady. Mai had described it and Rose Whip so many times that Serenity's mental image of them was quite clear, and she had instinctively chosen them as the virtual cards slid by.

_Joey's always told me to trust my instincts_, she thought to herself. And suddenly, she knew what she had to do.

"I place Shadow Tamer on the field, in attack mode!" Serenity announced. "And I move my Deck Master onto the field as well!"

xXx

Yami glanced miserably at all that was left of his brave band. Joey wasn't waking up; Mai's neck was broken and she would probably never move again. Bakura was infected and would die within a few hours; Kaiba was in a coma, possibly already dead; if not, he would be in a few more seconds. Ryou was miserably tending to the fire, wondering to himself if he and Yami could possibly complete the mission on their own. He hoped they would find Kimo, somehow, but the forest looked darker and more dense than ever before. Ryou fought the panicky edge of despair.

Yami walked forward and crouched by Anuba. "You're faithful," he murmured to the jackal, who was lying next to the makeshift coffin he'd forged for Kaiba. "But leave him now. I need you – Kimo is lost in the forest and I need you to track him down for us."

He noted with surprise that the usually conscientious jackal was hardly paying attention to him. Abruptly, Anuba rose to her feet and snarled at something deep in the forest; barking in loud harsh gasps. A branch cracked; Yami stiffened and also rose, reaching for his deck. "This is all I need," he muttered, shooting a nervous glance over his shoulder at Ryou. He was determined to protect _him_, at least.

Anuba's barking trailed off, and she threw herself forward. Yami peered into the darkness of the forest, and physically shuddered with relief. It was Kimo, walking back towards their camp, giving Anuba a friendly pat on the head.

But, on closer inspection, Kimo wasn't alone.

xXx

"I'm helping you," Marik announced.

Ezra was sweating. Lecter had revealed his Deck Master to be Jinzo, blocking all Trap cards; and activated Imperial Order, blocking all Magic cards; and was gaining enough life-points from Solemn Wishes to afford the cost of maintaining Imperial Order. She wasn't exactly in the mood.

"Go away," she snarled.

Unphased, Marik bent over and picked up a stick. "Hmm… not sharp enough," he mused. He broke off the end, tested the jagged edge against his palm, and smiled. "Much better," he proclaimed, trying to hand the stick to Ezra.

"You're annoying. Go away," she repeated. She'd been on the brink of an idea when he showed up! Go figure that Marik would destroy her concentration. She had to get rid of Imperial Order, at the least, although getting rid of Solemn Wishes would help too. She'd already tried Dust Tornado, but Jinzo's ability had negated that.

She wanted to use her Deck Master's ability; the Mystical Knight of Jackal could resurrect a Monster of her opponent's that she had destroyed, and bring it back on her side of the field. But so far, she had only destroyed a Fairy Injection Lily and other weak Monsters. Using her Deck Master's ability would cost her half her life-points, and if she brought back Lily to her side of the field, she wouldn't be able to afford the life-points that it took to boost Lily's attack power.

"Marik, who did you find?"

It was Mokuba's voice. Surprised, Ezra whirled around – she thought he had got away when the holes in the floor brought them here – but didn't see the boy. "Mokuba?" she asked tentatively.

"Ezra, is that you? Oh – yes, it is you! Noah's just got you on the video screen."

"Where are you?"

"I'm not in the virtual world," Mokuba explained. "I'm sitting in front of a computer. My friend Noah is in the system too; he's just got a video feed of you and – is that Lecter?"

"Yes," Ezra said, blinking and remembering that she was in the middle of a duel. "I'm glad you got out, Mokuba," she said hurriedly, reaching for her deck. It was her move. "Are the others okay?"

"I don't know," Mokuba said worriedly. "You're the first one we've found. We sent Marik to help you…" his voice trailed off.

Ezra looked at the blonde, now sitting in the dirt pretending to thrust the stick at Lecter, and grimaced. "The duel's already started; there's not much he can do," she responded, then glanced at the card she had just drawn.

Mobius the Frost Monarch.

A grin slowly spread over her face. Finally, some luck. It was a powerful Monster that required two tributes. She currently only had one Monster on the field, Dragon Dwelling in the Cave; its high defensive points had held Lecter at bay for several turns.

"I activate my Deck Master's special ability," she announced, "paying half my life-points-" she couldn't help but wince as they clicked down- "to bring back your Fairy Injection Lily to my side of the field." Lecter started to say something, but she cut him off: it was time to show him that she had the upper hand. "And I tribute Lily and my Dragon to Summon Mobuis the Frost Monarch! As I'm sure you are aware, when Mobuis is successfully Summoned, I can destroy any two Trap or Magic cards I choose – so I'll wipe out your Imperial Order and Solemn Wishes!"

The powerful Mobius appeared. Ezra felt a rush of cold air, and smiled. It froze the sweat right off her forehead.

xXx

Serenity held her breath, wondering if her impulsive decision would cost her the duel, and immediately second-guessing herself, wishing she had played Gemini Elf. But she was reassured when Johnson looked at Shadow Tamer and his face fell slightly; although he cheered himself up by looking at his Camion Wizard, Serenity knew that she had this duel in hand. The way he tensed up when she Summoned her Monster showed her that whatever card he had on the field, it was aimed for Monsters, and he wouldn't be able to stop her Magic card. _So much for a lawyer's poker face!_, she thought triumphantly.

Johnson's eyes flickered between Harpy Lady and Camion Wizard, and he laughed. "Your Harpy Lady may be able to destroy my Monster, but she will be destroyed in the process – and since she is your Deck Master, you will automatically lose the duel!"

"Sorry," Serenity said coldly. "I'm going to power up my Harpy Lady with Cyber Shield." Serenity watched in grim satisfaction as Harpy Lady's attack points shot up to 1800; the Harpy Lady sprouted shiny armor and threw her arms back in triumph. Johnson's face, obscured behind the countenance of Judge Man, set. Although Serenity didn't know it, Johnson had indeed placed a Bottomless Trap Hole on the field, thinking that if she tried to Summon a Monster to defeat his Camion Wizard, he would destroy it and win the duel. He stared frantically at his side of the field, but there was nothing there that could help him.

"Harpy Lady, attack his Camion Wizard!" Serenity commanded. Her Deck Master obediently shot into the air, diving at Camion Wizard with claws extended. Serenity had to avert her eyes, looking up again when Harpy Lady landed beside her, looking pleased. Johnson's life-points had dropped to 700. "Shadow Tamer… you can more than take care of that," Serenity said quietly. Her Monster darted forward; Johnson was left unprotected. Serenity watched, this time, as Shadow Tamer's attack hit Johnson as hard as Camion Wizard had assaulted Serenity earlier. Johnson gave a loud howl that almost left Serenity feeling sorry for him, and then he was gone.

Serenity's eyes met those of Harpy Lady. The redhead smiled, and whispered, "Thank you." Then she was alone again, the cliff by the lake just as peaceful as before.

xXx

Suddenly, the clearing lit up with such intensity that Yami threw his arm over his eyes. Anuba whimpered and ducked her head behind Kimo's leg. As the light faded and his eyes grew adjusted, Yami took a close look at the light source. The beams, pure and sharp white, were shining from a delicate crystal globe. It was cradled in the hands of a man – no, on second inspection, it was a Monster. Huge, round, and jolly; an old man's countenance, with a shocking patch of green hair and robes that seemed to float around its body. Yami tried to kick his stunned brain into action; what was the name of this Monster?

Kimo, obviously intimidated by his companion, scurried over to Yami's side. "I met him in the forest," he muttered, glancing nervously at the Monster. "He says he's a healer."

_That was it!_ Not a Monster – a Magic card. This was Dian Keto the Cure Master – and Kimo was right; it was a powerful healer.

Hope exploding in his chest, making his heart thud painfully, Yami strode forward and yanked the blanket off of Kaiba. "Is it too late?" he demanded.


	18. Chapter 18

Atakku

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Notes: Lecter's cards are mostly taken from the episodes (except for Battle Ox and Axe of Despair). The only thing I made up are the vague rules surrounding Satellite Cannon; in the US, it seems that any flying Monster can reach it; in the Japanese, only level 7 or higher Monsters can reach it; here, only tribute Monsters can reach it… though, like me, you can choose to believe that it's all about heart. :-)

Lots of virtual world stuff in this chapter. This is in keeping with the timeline, as you will discover next chapter.

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Chapter 18

xXx

Dian Keto crouched over Seto's limp form. Yami couldn't see what it was doing, but its hands flashed rapidly and at one point, he thought it produced a vial from the folds of its robes and administered it to Kaiba. The crystal ball, which Dian Keto had laid on the ground, twinkled with silvery starlight. Then all of a sudden, it went out.

Yami's heart sank, but Dian Keto straightened up and turned around, smiling. Behind him, Kaiba bolted straight up.

Ryou jumped a mile, and Yami's knees weakened with relief. "Seto!" he exclaimed, not even caring that he'd used the other's first name.

Seto looked wildly around, spotting the strange assortment of injuries and the giant Magic card. "Hell of a night," he groaned, struggling to his feet.

Smiling serenely as Yami, Ryou and Kimo rushed forward to greet Seto, Dian Keto moved on to Bakura. A few gentle touches of his hands, and a thorough cleaning with a special cloth, and Bakura's swollen black face receded to his normal smooth white one. He sat up dazedly, touching his cheek, while Ryou rushed over to help him stand.

The Magic card dipped its hand in the fire, and ran it over Joey's forehead; abruptly the boy was awake, choking on the smoke of the fire and impatiently throwing the layers of blankets off himself. "What happened? Where's Mai-" he broke off, staring wide-eyed as Dian Keto crouched over the still form of the girl he loved. Dian Keto cradled its giant hands around Mai's slender neck. When it began to apply pressure, Joey sprang forward, but Yami grabbed his arm and hauled him back. "Wait," he whispered.

Mai's eyes flew open and she stared at Dian Keto in confusion. With a graceful bow of its head, Dian Keto rose, collecting its delicate crystal ball. The silvery beams lit its way into the forest, and after a few paces the form of the Magic card was swallowed up by the darkness of the trees.

Yami watched it go, then turned back to Mai. Joey was crouching beside her, asking, "Does it hurt?"

Propping herself slowly up, Mai cocked her head slightly to the right. Then more sharply; then to the left. She rotated her head slowly around, and looked wonderingly in the direction Dian Keto had disappeared. "It's not even stiff."

The rest of their band was left to stare in amazement as their proud leader, the unshakable Yami, sank to his knees and let a single relieved tear splash onto the ground.

xXx

"I don't think you're playing badly," Marik offered. It was the first comforting thing he had said to her, then he ruined it by adding, "Lecter just has too many unbeatable combinations. No one could be expected to pull off another Mobius."

"Gee, thanks," Ezra said. She didn't quite have the energy to be sarcastic. Lecter had destroyed Mobius with the aid of a Magic card called Watch Tranquilizer, which lowered Mobius the Frost Monarch's attack points by one hundred for each star… and since Mobius had six stars, it lost six hundred life-points, bringing it down to an easily-defeated 1800. Lecter then powered up his Battle Ox with an Axe of Despair to a scary 2700 attack points! Even if Mobius hadn't been weakened, Battle Ox could have destroyed it – as it was, Ezra took a powerful hit to her life-points.

Ezra only had one recourse left to her, and it was one she'd done very reluctantly: her Spirit Ryu. By discarding a Dragon-type Monster from her hand, Ezra could power up Ryu by 1000 points for one turn. She needed to discard two Dragons to make Ryu powerful enough, so she'd tearfully said good-bye to Luster Dragon and Gray Wing.

Then Lecter had unleashed his so-called ultimate Monster, Satellite Cannon, which soared high into the atmosphere. She'd wasted one turn ordering Spirit Ryu to attack it; her poor Monster wasn't strong enough to fly that high, and she no longer had more Dragon-type cards to boost Ryu. She'd wasted another turn ordering Spirit Ryu to attack a face-down card on Lecter's side of the field, which turned out to be Dream Sprite, and Dream Sprite redirected Spirit Ryu's attack to the Cannon, where it dissipated in the atmosphere. And then Satellite Cannon's attack grew high enough, and Lecter destroyed Spirit Ryu, and that was where Ezra stood now. No Monsters on her side of the field, facing an enemy she couldn't reach, whose attack points grew by 1000 each turn.

Logically, Ezra knew that if she got rid of Dream Sprite, she would have a clear path to Lecter's life-points: his Satellite couldn't intercept ground attacks any more than her ground attacks could reach the Satellite. But for some reason, it was the Monster in the sky that captured Ezra's attention. Some nagging thought made her sure that Seto Kaiba would have despised that Satellite Cannon, could he see it. From his brief descriptions of his adopted father's company, she was sure that the Satellite embodied all the machines of war that he'd fought against. Of course, Seto could have destroyed it with ease with his Blue-Eyes… she wished again for her Luster Dragon, now lying in her graveyard. Her Deck Master's power only worked on her opponent's graveyard, or she would resurrect Luster Dragon in an instant.

"You'd better do it this turn," Marik warned as Ezra reached for her deck. "Next turn, his Satellite Cannon will be at 3000, and I don't think you have anything that could hold it off then, do you?"

"It doesn't have attack points when it's being attacked, only when it's doing the attacking," she said automatically.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she shot back. "Thanks for the advice. If you hadn't told me I should try to win, I never would have thought of it."

"You definitely need to attack him with a sharp stick when this is all over, just to relieve your tension," Marik remarked as Ezra drew.

"I play Pot of Greed," she said, biting her lip, thanking her lucky stars that she had gotten rid of some of Lecter's interfering cards and could use her Magic cards again. She drew two cards, her mind already racing over what other Monsters she had that could possibly tackle Satellite Cannon – and froze. She was holding Monster Reborn, and this duel was about to be turned around.

xXx

Serenity finally ventured away from the cliff, looking for her friends, and immediately ran into Yugi. His face was flushed with exhilaration, and he looked as she imagined that she must: like he had just done something unprecedented, impossible.

"Yugi!" she cried, running up to him. Their eyes met, their smiles widened.

"You look happy," Yugi remarked, studying her face. "I take it one of the Big 5 hasn't caught up to you yet? Or…" the twinkle in Serenity's eyes gave it away. "You dueled one of them? And beat him?"

"I did, Yugi," Serenity breathed, her eyes alight. "By myself… but I was thinking of you, of Mai, and of Joey the whole time."

"I'm so proud of you!" Yugi exclaimed, giving her an impulsive hug. She laughed into his shoulder.

"And you? You've dueled one of them?"

"Nesbit is toast," Yugi grinned. "Quite literally… after Kuriboh and I beat him, he fell into a pool of firey radioactive waste."

Serenity's eyebrows raised at that, but she just giggled. "Kuriboh? Isn't that the cute furry one?"

Yugi laughed. "Come on. Did you see that rocket go shooting off into space earlier? I bet we'll find one of the others dueling there."

"Oh, I hope it's Ezra or Mokuba," Serenity said with a grimace. "I saw Malik before. He was doing a dance with penguins."

Yugi cocked his head, thinking that over, while Serenity scanned the sky. She hadn't noticed the rocket go up, but she saw something hanging in the sky now, looking like a large Satellite. A white beam shot down from the Satellite, obliterating some Monster on the ground.

"Oh!" Serenity gasped, jerked back to reality. "Yes, let's hurry over there!"

xXx

"You _did_ pull another trick like Mobius!"

"I'm glad to know you had unwavering faith in me, Marik," Ezra said sweetly as her Monster Reborn lit up and Luster Dragon rose onto the playing field. Lecter's eyes were hidden behind Jinzo's goggles, but his mouth twisted as her powerful Dragon shot into the air. Luster Dragon opened its mouth, and roared, and white-hot flames spilled out. Satellite Cannon erupted in a spectacular shower and bits of metal rained down to the earth around Ezra's feet. She grinned, and Luster Dragon landed heavily on the ground again, snorting in satisfaction.

"Oh, well done, indeed," Ezra whispered.

As Lecter's life-points clicked down to a paltry 400, Ezra heard pounding footsteps behind her, and Yugi panted, "What an explosion!"

"I thought it was beautiful," Serenity said, coming up as well, and looking in admiration at Luster Dragon. "That is a gorgeous Monster."

Luster Dragon preened, Lecter snarled, and Ezra sighed in relief. "You guys are okay!"

"We both won our duels," Yugi summed up, "and it was easy to find you, what with the fireworks. Hi, Marik. Did you win your duel already?"

"Mokuba and his computerized semi-brother immobilized Gansley the green sea monster while I played with sticks," Marik informed them succinctly.

"…Oh," Yugi said uncertainly.

"They're there! Yugi! Serenity!"

"Mokuba?" Yugi asked, spinning comically in a circle.

"I'm not actually in the virtual world," Mokuba's voice explained. "I got out before the holes opened up in the floor. I've seen your bodies; they're lying on the floor covered in wires. I think I know how we can get out of here, get back to Pegasus's, but first I need you guys in your right minds. Abruptly yanking the wires from your heads could permanently damage your brain waves."

Yugi shuddered. "Okay. And how do we do that?"

He noticed Ezra turn back to her duel, fiercely trying to face Lecter and listen to Mokuba's plan at the same time. Lecter played a card that allowed him to regain some of his lost life-points, and ended his turn.

"Noah – um, he's a boy, my adopted brother, sort of, who got locked in the computer systems here – anyway, he's trying to help us and he'll get us out when he can. The Big 5 are trapped by their own arrogance – they wrote the program allowing the winner of the duel to escape, assuming they would win easily."

"What about me?" Marik interjected. "I never actually fought."

"Noah's got Gansley good and stuck, so you'll be fine," Mokuba responded. "He can bring us all together, as soon as Ezra wins…" he hesitated, then added grudgingly, "and Malik. Once you find Malik we'll take the five of you back to your own bodies."

"That's great news!" Yugi said encouragingly. Much better than he had feared, as a matter of fact. "Noah, we can't thank you enough!" he added enthusiastically. There was a moment of silence, then Noah said hesitantly, "You're welcome."

It was Ezra's turn again. She looked confused, and for a moment Yugi worried that she didn't have the right cards to carry herself to victory. But Ezra was just struggling with something. She remembered her own thoughts about how Seto would have despised Satellite Cannon, and she didn't want to use that foul machine of war. But she didn't have any other Monsters, and would be unable to attack Lecter's life-points this turn, and she was not about to wait around for Lecter to increase his life-points further and pull off yet another nigh unbeatable strategy. She swallowed her own distaste, and commanded, "Mystical Knight of Jackal – use your ability as Deck Master to bring back Satellite Cannon on my side of the field."

Her life-points clicked down by half, the cost of bringing Satellite Cannon back, and then it rose into the sky for a second time. But this time, its cannons pointed at Lecter.

Victory ended up taking three turns, during which Ezra's hands shook with anxiety and she couldn't stop staring at Satellite Cannon. Her Luster Dragon easily destroyed Dream Sprite, now that Lecter had no Monsters to redirect the attack towards. The next turn, Luster Dragon took down Lecter's hastily thrown down defense Monster, while Satellite Cannon attacked him directly. The pattern continued; Lecter kept playing cards to increase his life-points, but Satellite Cannon's attack kept growing, and soon became much too powerful for Lecter to stand against. When Satellite Cannon fired the third blow, the white light coming from its cannon's enveloped Lecter, and the dirt kicked up where he was standing; when the explosion dust settled, there was no one there.

Ezra let out a sigh of relief, her eyes still fixed on Satellite Cannon as it sunk to the ground and crumpled for the last time. Only when it had disappeared completely did she turn, beaming, to Mystical Knight of Jackal and Luster Dragon, flinging her arms around them both before they too receded into the virtual deck.

"That was an amazing duel," Serenity said quietly.

"Very enlightening," Yugi said; he, too, stared at the place where Satellite Cannon had disappeared. "I guess that's what happens to those who make machines of war," he said finally, looking up with a crooked smile. "It always comes back to bite you."

"I like that someone else is getting chastised for trying to destroy things," Marik said enthusiastically. "A flying machine! It makes destroying all technology, enslaving the free world, and unleashing Ra quite paltry by comparison, doesn't it?!"

Ezra's lips twitched. Serenity hid a faint smile.

"Shall we go find Malik?" Yugi asked the others.

"He was dancing with penguins," Serenity informed those who had not heard.

"That is one wonderful boy. I never should have locked him up," Marik said regretfully.


	19. Chapter 19

Atakku

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Notes: Malik does, in fact, have several scenes with ice in Battle City, and I am obsessed with these scenes. And again, all cards are real, although some of them are taken from the episodes and not commercially available.

x

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Chapter 19

xXx

"Penguins… probably means that Malik was going somewhere cold, do you think?" Yugi asked the group at large.

"Cold?" Marik suddenly looked alarmed. "I don't like cold! And neither does Malik, come to think of it."

"Poor thing," Serenity said in a voice so sugary-sweet that it was impossible to tell whether or not she was being sarcastic.

"Icebergs ahoy," Ezra said, pointing at what she assumed was north. As a matter of fact, she was also assuming that they were icebergs; they were a bit far away to be sure, but what else would reflect the setting sun like that?

They trudged along the path; Noah and Mokuba played around with the coding, and they arrived at what did turn out to be icebergs within minutes. They started climbing down a steep, icy path until Marik decided to toboggan down, knocking over everyone else, and they landed in a disgruntled heap at the foot of a Duel Monsters match.

"What's this? I didn't play a Goofy Friends card," Malik said innocently.

"I thought you didn't like the cold," Marik said accusingly, as if the other boy had betrayed him.

"I like ice, remember?!" Malik sounded shocked that such a vital fact could be forgotten.

"Is that why you're encased in it up to your armpits?" Yugi wondered, looking up from his position under Ezra's legs. She finally wormed her way out from underneath Serenity and the three of them stood up, along with Marik, looking at the duel curiously. Malik was facing Crump, a member of the Big 5… but Crump had taken on the form of Nightmare Penguin, for bizarre reasons known only to himself.

"No. That's an unfortunate side-effect of this duel," Malik said, somewhat glumly, then shifted his attention back to Crump. "I beg you, for the last time, come to your senses! It's not too late to turn back, Crump. We can still stop this duel and open up a penguin farm together and live happily ever after!"

Crump, who was only up to his waist in ice, had an army of five penguins ready to attack, and apparently believed he was about to win the duel, looked at Malik like he was insane.

"At least Malik hasn't actually taken on the form of a penguin," Ezra muttered.

"Oooh, are you sticking up for him now?" Marik asked interestedly.

xXx

Téa kept her face impassive as she emerged onto the roof and saw Ra sitting on the edge, again in human form. She made her way as close to him as she could stand before setting the heavy tray on the ground. She wiped her forehead with her sleeve; it was hot. Since Ra showed no sign of turning around, Téa started to go down the stairs again, but he halted her by speaking.

"I take it this isn't poisoned?"

Téa made a face as long as her back was still turned. "It's fine," she said, beginning to move again.

"Wonderful," Ra said, and she couldn't see him but was sure that he was grinning. "I've located a group of rebels and I plan to crush them. But first, I think a nice hearty meal will give me sufficient strength."

He said it to incite Téa, she knew it, but she still fell for his bait. She whirled around, fists clenched, wanting nothing more than to scream at him.

"You're a filthy hypocrite," she spat, her voice quavering dangerously. "You see an injustice, and instead of helping to make things right, all you want to do it reverse it! Yes, that's lovely, switch things around so that _other_ people are being oppressed, so long as you get to lord over it all in your castle! The same problems exist and nothing's really changed at all and you, you _foul beast_, you are just as bad as the people you hate!"

Her voice grew stronger, but something snapped in her mind. Odion was right, she thought with a vague sort of wonder. She could no longer hate Ra, because she just realized that he truly did not understand what he was doing. He did not recognize the despicable moral hypocrisy behind it. What was wrong with people – well, beings; what was wrong with some beings that they could justify causing pain? How could Ra espouse such philosophy about righting the wrongs and liberating the Duel Monsters without realizing that he was just propagating the same techniques used against them for so long? What was so wrong with a compromise?

Something in Téa's face changed, and pity flickered in her eyes. Ra recognized it, a little, and even more than her words, it unsettled him.

"You're a fine one to talk, after contributing to our oppression," he said coldly. "I wouldn't keep it up or you risk losing your precarious position." He hadn't touched the steak yet, but he stood. "I think it's time to take care of that little rebellion out in the forest. It's a mix of humans and Duel Monsters, you know; a pity that some Monsters chose the losing side. They could have had such a good time in _my new world_."

He bared his teeth at Téa, and let his true form take over, arms spreading wide and turning to gigantic wings, his face elongating into the familiar beak. He took to the sky, but even his tremendous strength and speed could not take him away fast enough to avoid hearing her last words.

"They're rebelling because they _see that you are wrong_!"

Bothersome girl, he thought. He almost turned around and roasted her right then, but it was a matter that should be handled with some delicacy… he liked that castle enough, and there was no point in destroying it in his hurry to dispatch her. There would be plenty of time for that when he got back.

xXx

"Oh Crump," Malik said sadly. "Oh Crump."

"_Will you make your move already?"_ Crump snarled in anger. Serenity almost couldn't blame him, but she was starting to gain a reluctant admiration for the crazy blonde. Malik was playing Crump well, and this sort of mental torture was nothing more than this member of the Big 5 deserved.

"I activate Blaze Accelerator," Malik said tragically.

Crump snorted. "I'm familiar with that magic card, of course. I learned all the fire cards, to make sure that my one weakness could not be exploited. Blaze Accelerator allows you to discard one Pyro Monster from your hand to destroy one monster on my side of the field. But then you cannot attack me again! And next turn, I will wipe out your remaining 600 life-points with my four other monsters!"

Malik ignored him. "And now I activate…" He gave a loud sniff. "Wild Fire. Good-bye, my penguin friends."

Crump looked startled, then furious, then pained as the blaze swept his side of the field and destroyed all of his monsters. Wild Fire could only be activated when the magic card Blaze Accelerator was in play, but when it was, it wiped out all opposing monsters. He let out a howl of fury as the last of his penguin army disappeared.

But there was a price to pay. Malik had to sacrifice 500 life-points. The ice crept up his shoulders, partially immobilizing his arm and wrapping around his neck.

As a result of using Blaze Accelerator, Malik was able to summon a monster called Wild Fire Token, with a paltry 1000 attack points. It wasn't enough to defeat Crump, who had 2150 life-points left; and Malik could not attack this turn anyway. Blaze Accelerator stipulated that he could not attack in the same turn that he activated the magic card.

And in his hand, Crump held a magic card called Ocean of Regeneration. It would allow him to bring back his Penguin Torpedo, which could attack Malik's life-points directly. Next turn, Malik's flimsy 100 life-points would be wiped out and Crump would win the duel.

His penguin face widened into a grin and he waited for Malik to declare that his turn was over.

xXx

"Yugi?" Ezra asked worriedly. "What do you think?"

Yugi was squinting uncertainly at the game. "I think it looks tough for Malik," he said slowly. "But… he must have some sort of plan. I mean, he had to have thought about this somewhat to risk using those two cards in combination."

Marik looked truly concerned, for the first time since they'd arrived in this virtual world… actually, for the first time that Ezra could remember. "He won't lose, right?" he whispered. "I mean, that penguin thing will never get his body. It can't happen. And even if it did, Mokuba could fix it, couldn't he?"

"Wait," Ezra said suddenly.

"Oh Crump, why did you have to send those lovely penguins to the front lines?" Malik asked dramatically. "You sacrificed them needlessly! Farewell, penguins, you will be missed!"

"Are you finished yet?" Crump snapped. He was practically salivating, reaching for his deck, ready to make his last move and finally claim that body for his own! "Declare your turn over!"

"Now why would I want to do a thing like that?" Malik asked innocently, blinking at Crump. His eyelashes were frosted over.

For the first time, Crump faltered. Malik struggled to move his arms, which were partially bound by the ice, and managed to reach his duel disk. He activated a trap card.

"Pyro Clock of Destiny," he informed Crump sweetly. "It moves the turn count forward by one turn. So guess what? I can attack again!"

His Wild Fire Token blazed into life. White-hot flames licked, reaching Malik and warming his body under the layer of ice. He sighed in relief. Ice in such quantities hadn't proven to be as nice as he thought. Then the body of his monster shot forward, scoring a direct hit to Crump's life points. Crump shrieked as ice climbed up his chest and his life-points clicked down to 1150.

"You haven't beaten me yet!" he jabbered, flailing his penguin arms about.

"Give it two more seconds," Malik shot back, finally getting serious. "I move my Deck Master onto the field!"

Serenity, who had found his Deck Master disgusting at first glance, now found it intriguing. Malik called it Revival Jam when he ordered it to attack; it was a blue gooey mess, with very little shape, but oddly cute. It made pleased chirruping noises as it flew towards Crump. The penguin seemed to see defeat coming, and Crump closed his eyes. His life-points clicked down to zero and the ice enveloped him.

The ice surrounding Malik shattered, and he stepped away, pouting. "Marik… the ice was mean to me."

"Malik!" Marik exclaimed, bounding forward and wrapping the other boy in a giant hug, sweeping him off the ground in his exuberance. "I knew you could do it!"

Serenity found herself exchanging smiles with Yugi and Ezra. They were starting to feel some actual affection for the boys who had caused so much trouble in the past.

That is, until Revival Jam slopped over and oozed onto their feet, then exploded all over the three stunned duelists.

Their smiles turned back into glares as Malik and Marik made no attempt to hide their snickers.

xXx

"Okay. They've all won their duels!" Mokuba said eagerly, fingers flying over the keyboard. "Ready to bring them back?"

"Yes. I'm uploading the data back into their bodies," Noah responded. His voice sounded as happy as Mokuba's; he was relieved to have finally helped someone and made a difference despite his computerized state.

"Excellent!" Mokuba dug Different Dimension Dragon out of his pocket, where he had shoved it when he first arrived in this different world. "I'm going to run down now and get the others." He hesitated, for the first time understanding that this would mean good-bye. Noah certainly couldn't come with him; computers didn't exist in the other world anymore.

Noah, who of course had known this all along, merely smiled at him. "Great. Go. I'm so happy for you, Mokuba." And he meant it.

Mokuba put his face close to the computer screen. "My big brother is a genius," he whispered fiercely. "Right now he's fighting the magic that is ruling our world, and when he wins, he's going to bring back technology. And when he builds the first computer again, I promise that I'll make sure the first program he runs is to tap into your network. And then we'll figure out a way to make you free again."

Noah's eyes had widened and gotten teary. Never, in a million years, had he expected this. Not a friend like this, not help like this, not a second chance like this.

"…You will?" he whispered, his voice breaking.

"I promise." Mokuba held Noah's glance for a long moment, and then the door slid open behind him. Giving his adopted brother a final salute, Mokuba turned and galloped through the doorway, shouting for his friends.

xXx

Yugi made a face as he woke up in an uncomfortable metal chair. Wires were attached all over his body, but mostly to his head. He pulled them off; the suction cups at the end made slight protesting squelches as he yanked them away.

"Freaky," Serenity murmured.

"It's weird seeing technology again after so long," Ezra said, staring at her handful of wires. "I'd forgotten what these looked like. And computers! Does anyone remember the internet?"

"Yeah, until some idiot decided to get rid of it," Marik chimed in. When everyone turned to stare at him, he winked.

"Hey!" Mokuba came charging up, beaming. "You guys are all right!"

"Thanks to you," Yugi said enthusiastically. "Thanks, Mokuba. Thanks a lot."

"Aw, it was no big deal," Mokuba said modestly, trying not to blush. "You guys did a lot of work too. I watched most of your duels, they were great!"

"It was certainly a learning experience," Serenity smiled. "So how are we getting out of this?"

"Well, I've still got Different Dimension Dragon," Mokuba said, flashing the card. "So I guess I should just… Summon it?" He hesitated. He'd never actually Summoned before.

"Wait," Ezra said suddenly. "We're not in the same universe as the Millenium Items anymore. So how are we going to get the power to Summon that dragon?"

Serenity looked worried, but Yugi held out his hand. "I bet I can do it," he said. "Different dimension or not, I've still got a connection with Yami, and I can tap into his power."

Mokuba willingly handed over the card. Yugi took it, briefly closed his eyes, and then the air rippled as Different Dimension Dragon appeared. Its pale green body twisted in the air, four wings beating slowly, and its yellow eyes studied the group with a languid boredom.

Yugi smiled, taking an odd liking to this creature who had caused them so much havoc. It seemed outside the normal rules, somehow, which was understandable given that it could defy the laws of space and time. "Please," he said, bowing respectfully after deciding that he should take a formal tone when dealing with this Monster. "Could you bring us back to our own world now? Where we came from? If you could take us to the same time, that too would be appreciated," he added.

The dragon's slow beating of its wings picked up. Mokuba reached up a hand to touch the air, which now had the same golden sparkles in it. He felt his eyes growing heavy, and he looked around to see the others similarly slumping. They started to disappear, one by one; first Malik and Marik, then Yugi and Serenity, then Ezra. Then the air twisted sharply around him once more, and a second later he was stunned back into wakefulness as he slammed onto the cold stone floor in Pegasus's castle.

xXx

Ishizu and Shadi went rushing down the hallway in response to the commotion. As they rounded the bend, they saw Marik stick his head out of Mokuba's doorway.

"Ishizu and Shaaadi! Malik and the redhead and the porcupine and the girl with the dog and the brat and I are going on a vacation with Different Dimension Dragon! Don't wait up, but please rescue us if you can! Because I really don't think there's a way out!"

"_What?_" Ishizu shrieked, and Marik disappeared back into the bedroom. "They _better not_!" she hissed through her teeth. She and Shadi rushed in the room a few seconds later just in time to see Marik dissolve in the strange golden mist. They skidded to a halt before they too were sucked in, and stared at Different Dimension Dragon.

"Wonderful," Ishizu said flatly. "Something _else_ we have to deal with."

"Tristan and Duke are on their way," Shadi commented, hearing footsteps. "And possibly Pegasus and the other servants."

Ishizu sighed, shoving strands of dark hair from her face. "Pegasus might be able to help, but I think only magic will be able to bring them back. And perhaps not even that. I haven't the slightest clue as to the magical properties of Different Dimension Dragon. We haven't studied Summoned Monsters as much as we should, or could, have."

They fell silent and stared at the portal, as if hoping it would solve their problems for them.

A second later, it did.

The golden cloud had been on the verge of dissipating, but now it grew solid again. From its depths, the forms of Malik and Marik reappeared, the two boys falling on the floor. Then Yugi and Serenity appeared, tripping over Marik's legs. Then Ezra, followed by Mokuba, popped back into the room, and the golden cloud went out with a wink.

"Did you have a nice trip?" Ishizu asked sarcastically.

xXx

Yami was still trembling in relief when another twinge passed through his body. This one was different, somehow, and it took him a minute to distinguish it. Something had happened with Yugi.

Uncertainly, he reached out with his mental link. Something had definitely happened, but it had come and gone in the space of a second. Now, he felt peace.

He had no way of knowing that Yugi had come and gone from the dimension, visited a virtual world, and risked his life as Yami had intended that he never should.

xXx

Something had changed in the rebel camp. What had once been semi-ordered chaos was turning into an actual army. Practices ceased, and Monsters and humans alike rushed to join ranks.

Mystical Elf had disappeared without explanation a few minutes ago, but as Weevil, Rex, and Espa ducked through the crowd, Weevil caught sight of her. He reached out and brushed her arm; she turned, her face set firmly.

"What happened?" Weevil asked, already knowing the answer.

"He's coming."


	20. Chapter 20

Atakku

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x

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Chapter 20

xXx

"Did you have a nice trip?" Ishizu asked sarcastically.

"Ha-ha," Malik said, staggering to his feet and rubbing his hipbone.

"I had a nice trip, actually," Marik volunteered. "I attacked virtual men with virtual sticks and Malik learned that fire really is better than ice."

"Let's never do that again," Ezra suggested.

"What happened in here?" Duke and Tristan burst into the room. Geoff entered a few seconds behind them. The three boys skidded to a halt, looking around. The room seemed fine, except that Marik and Yugi were still lying on the ground trying to get up and there was a giant dragon now sleeping on Mokuba's bed.

"Oh boy," Yugi sighed, finally clambering to his feet. "Where do we start?"

"How about with, what _is_ that thing?" Tristan suggested, glancing nervously at the dragon. It had sharp horns and a pointed mouth, and he had a feeling it would have vicious teeth.

"It's Different Dimension Dragon," Yugi explained. "Mokuba accidentally Summoned it… come to think of it, Mokuba, how _did_ you Summon it in the first place? And where did you get the card from?"

But Mokuba didn't answer. He was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the dragon, his mouth hanging half-open.

"Mokuba?" Yugi repeated.

Mokuba finally turned around, and his eyes were blazing with a bright excitement.

"I have an idea."

xXx

"We could have planned better, I suppose."

Yami grimaced and put his head in his hands. Mai touched his shoulder.

"I didn't mean you specifically, Yami. You're still our leader, but we all have to take responsibility. None of us have been in a situation like this before, and we don't know what to expect, so it's time to take more precautions."

"I never even thought about Trap Cards before I walked straight into one," Joey added. He was sitting as close to the fire as he could, unable to shake the lingering memory of being buried under several feet of snow.

"We're just lucky that none of us fell into an Acid Trap Hole or something else that would have killed us instantaneously," Kaiba added wearily.

"How do we know Trap Cards are there? Can you see them coming?" Kimo pragmatically wondered.

"I didn't. I dunno though, I guess I wasn't paying that much attention," Joey admitted. "But – wait!" He leafed through his deck, drawing out a card. "Dust Tornado – it negates the effect of a Trap or Magic Card. We can send it out ahead of us."

"That's a good idea," Yami said, lifting his head. "We should consider a guard of Monsters, too."

"Why don't we just fly in?" Mai suggested. "Get above the tree line, so we could at least see what's coming."

"The whole point of traveling this way is the advantage of stealth," Bakura said, not unkindly. "Ra can't see us coming." Mai nodded, accepting the truth of the comment.

"But we could travel… faster," Yami mused. "Perhaps if we Summoned Monsters that could travel on the ground we could make it out of this forest more quickly."

"There's an idea," Ryou said, perking up at the idea of no more walking. Bakura nodded, and started leafing through his deck.

Yami squared his shoulders. "Everybody, bring out your decks. We have to form a strategy."

xXx

They began moving again at dawn, eager to move on from this dangerous section of the forest. Bakura and Ryou rode on the swift Nightmare Horse, the latter very nervously. It was a Zombie Monster, and Ryou felt funny sitting on it when blue flecks of skin kept falling off. He clutched tightly onto the bandages. Bakura, for his part, rode casually, as if he had been on horseback all of his life.

Mai and Joey were also doubled up on Amazoness Tiger, a gorgeous Monster that wowed both of them. Mai kept running her hands through the tiger's silky orange fur. Joey watched her with a smile on his face; the scare of losing her hadn't yet left.

Kimo rode Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast. Joey recognized it as a Fusion Monster that Yami and Yugi had used frequently, back when the two of them shared a body. He had all sorts of questions about Fusion Monsters – how did that work, anyway? – but felt tactless asking them while the Fusion Monster was right there.

Seto Kaiba was perched on the back of Koumori Dragon as his purple Monster moved steadily forward, crawling across the ground at top speed, tail whipping behind. Seto, too, made the odd perch look perfectly natural, and he was searching through his deck, alert to his surroundings.

Yami rode next to Mai and Joey on Silver Fang. He had one hand buried in the wolf's long white mane, the other was holding his cards at the ready. Silver Fang moved quickly and effortlessly, head roving around looking for danger, teeth bared in a feral snarl. Anuba the jackal ran on the other side of Silver Fang, ears perked up and tongue lolling enthusiastically.

Moving ahead of the group were Joey's Dust Tornado and Mai's Harpie's Feather Duster. The Trap cards whirled through the trees and bushes, seeking out any dangerous Magic or Trap cards and negating their effects. Joey didn't know exactly how many things they'd been saved from, but it was a lot, because every time his Dust Tornado came across something it would want to dissipate, and he would have to send it more magic to keep it going. In the old days, he would have found this too draining to continue for long, but the Millennium Key around his neck was making it easy.

The others held Magic and Trap cards ranging from De-Spell to Magical Hats, and had a few select Monsters ready to leap to battle. They had released a few Monsters already, and those swooped overhead, keeping an eye out. Dark Magician Girl rode sideways on her wand, her eyes darting around. She swooped past Dark Witch, giving the other Monster a wink.

They had eyes and ears everywhere, but it was Silver Fang, with his sensitive wolf's nose, who was the first to sense a change in the environment. He threw back his head and howled, surging forward suddenly. Yami tightened his grip, tensing up, and Silver Fang leaped over the last clump of bushes and landed at the side of a lake.

Dark Magician Girl and Dark Witch broke through the cover of the trees and landed on the ground, poised for battle, in case there was any trouble here. Nightmare Horse came sailing over the bushes, followed by Amazoness Tiger and Chimera. Koumori Dragon crashed through the bushes, trampling them all down, followed by the rest of their Monster guard.

Everything was quiet. The small group scanned the area, Harpie's Feather Duster performing a quick scan of the lake.

"It seems fine," Yami was the first to break the silence. "We should go around."

"Wait," Bakura said, his sharp eyes focused on the middle of the lake. "Something is glowing in there."

"Are you sure that's not the reflection of the sun?" Kaiba asked, jumping down from Koumori Dragon and walking forward. His eyes narrowed; the glow wasn't moving at all as he changed position. It didn't seem to be the sun after all.

xXx

The Swords of Revealing Light, deep underwater, had held their prisoners suspended for three days. And for three days, a 7 Colored Fish had passed by, eyeing the two humans suspended there, trying to get at the prey. But the Swords stopped it from getting closer, and the Monster was unable to penetrate past the golden light.

And now, the Swords' time was up. Three days had passed since they were first Summoned, and when the sun hit a certain point in the sky, the golden swords vanished abruptly.

Alerted by the changing light, 7 Colored Fish swam back. It saw the two humans, who before had been hovering so peacefully, jerk to life. Two sets of eyes opened, two mouths opened to breath and found not air, but water. The humans started to writhe, to swim, to search for the surface. But they were disoriented, and too far under.

This would be an easy meal.

xXx

"No," Ishizu said firmly.

"No," Shadi added.

"What? Why not?" Mokuba flung his arms out. "I thought you guys would be happy! This solves our problems at being left behind!"

"We stayed back for a reason," Ishizu told him, still firmly. "We cannot use Different Dimension Dragon's powers to get to Akuma."

"Of course we could!" Mokuba argued. "We could all go there and get ready to help my big brother and Yami and the rest of them, when they arrive!"

"Mokuba, they're traveling in such a small group because secrecy is vital," Ezra told him softly. "If we all popped up in Akuma, we'd ruin the element of surprise."

"Precisely," Ishizu said with an air of finality. "And none of us are equipped to take on Ra. Our most powerful weapons are with the band of seven that is traveling there as we speak. We should not interfere."

"Not the Rod!" Mokuba argued. "We could go find the Rod and have it ready for Seto!"

"Mokuba, the others are right," Yugi said tiredly. "I wasn't a fan of staying behind either, but the mission is too important to risk, no matter how good our intentions."

Mokuba's eyes filled with childish tears that he tried desperately to banish. He supposed that what they were saying made sense, but he wasn't happy about it. "It's not fair," he mumbled, tossing the card on the bed beside the sleeping dragon.

"Mokuba, you know it's not like Seto would be happy to see you," Ezra said gently, trying to make a joke out of it. "He wanted you to stay home and be safe. That's what will please him the most."

"I know," he whispered. "I just… really wanted to help him."

"We all did," she said, pulling him into a hug. Her embrace was warm, and Mokuba leaned against her stomach, feeling his eyes flutter shut. He was suddenly tired, exhausted in fact, and he attributed it to the stressful adventure in the virtual world until suddenly he was wide awake and the cold stone floor had changed to soft grass beneath his feet.

"Mokuba!" Ishizu exclaimed, her voice horrified.

He pulled back from an equally stunned Ezra and looked around, but it was dark. For a minute he thought he was blind, but when he looked up, he saw stars. Everyone who had been in the bedroom was now either standing or lying on the grass outside in the pitch black. And when Mokuba looked ahead for a long time, and let his eyes adjust, he saw a thin band of blackness even deeper than the shadows. It glimmered ominously, and he recognized it as the same Shadow Magic that he had only ever seen from a distance. The black thing curved inwards; it was circling something. Mokuba turned all the way around, and got the faint impression of a giant building looming behind him.

The castle.

They were in Akuma.

"Mokuba!" Ishizu said again.

"I didn't do it!" he immediately protested. "I swear I didn't do it. I didn't ask Different Dimension Dragon to bring me away the first time, either, it just did. It must have read my thoughts this time around and known I wanted to come here. I didn't do it, really I didn't!"

"It's okay," Yugi said, stumbling to his feet; he must have fallen again during the transportation process. "It's okay, Mokuba, I believe you. That dragon just sort of has its own ideas about things. But maybe we should get out of here now."

"Yes, quickly," Ishizu agreed; from the strained tone of her voice, Mokuba could tell that she was trying to calm herself down.

"Huh. Home," Marik mused thoughtfully, gazing up at the castle.

"I wonder if my old prisoner's quarters are still there," Malik wondered aloud, nudging Marik pointedly in the side. Marik made a "who knows?" humming noise.

Mokuba reached into his pyjama pocket, and blanched. The memory hit him hard: he had thrown the card onto the bed, way back in Pegasus's castle.

"Don't tell me," Shadi spoke up for the first time, his voice dry.

"Oh, spare me the sarcasm," Mokuba snapped back.

xXx

It was the middle of the night, but neither Téa nor Odion could sleep. They were still in the kitchens, wondering how Ra and the rebellion were going, and deep in their own thoughts, when they heard a commotion out in the castle grounds. They exchanged startled looks.

"I thought no one could cross that barrier of Shadow Magic!" Téa exclaimed.

"Perhaps we were not the only ones trapped in here?..." Odion wondered aloud, tiptoeing to the door. He peeked out, Téa right behind him, but it was impossible to see in the inky blackness. The only light came from the stars and the faint moonbeams; there was a Full Moon hanging overhead as well, but it was far away and the card didn't have enough energy to spread its beams as powerfully as the real moon.

"Impossible!" she whispered. "I'm sure Ra would have outed them by now!"

"Unless they were Duel Monsters? On his side?" Odion suggested.

Téa winced. "Maybe we shouldn't go out there? No, we have to," she answered her own question.

"Slowly, then. And stay behind me," Odion cautioned.

She was temped to snort at his chauvinism, but to her mild surprise, found that she was more captivated by his courteousness. And at least he wasn't suggesting that she stay behind. With a slight grin on her face, Téa followed Odion out the door and around the edge of the building.

When he stopped short, she took a step backwards, ready to run if she had to. But then one distinctive voice floated up from the others, and her heart gave a leap that nearly knocked her over.

"Well, Marik, you lived here. Do you know any secret passages that we can use or something? We can't stay out here all night."

"Yugi?" Téa asked uncertainly, stepping out from behind Odion. Could it be him, could this be true? She hadn't seen her friend in so long… not since that first fateful duel that started it all. It had been more than a year.

It was pitch-black outside, but she could sense Yugi looking at her… and suddenly it hadn't been a year at all, only a day. Téa's heart leapt. "Yugi! I _knew_ I'd see you again someday, I just _knew_ it!" Half sobbing, she rushed forward into his arms. He ran to meet her too, and they clung to each other, laughing and crying hysterically. She was vaguely aware of Tristan rushing up too, and she grabbed on to him as well, blabbering meaningless words and letting it all sink in.

Odion lit a torch from a bracket on the palace walls, and orange light flickered across the tableau. Téa saw Duke and Serenity there too, beaming at them. There was a boy she didn't know, standing there uncertainly. Shadi was watching Ishizu embrace Odion with a small smile, and then Téa noticed Malik and – her heart thumped – Marik.

They were looking at Odion, expressions of such tenderness on their faces that Téa felt a lump catch in her throat. Then, as one, Malik and Marik stretched out their hands and said, "Brother!"

Ishizu broke down and started crying, clutching on to all three of her siblings as they hugged. Téa had a suspicion that Odion was teary too, but she couldn't tell, because she had started sobbing again. And now Duke and Serenity had joined Téa and Yugi and Tristan in their giant embrace, and for the first time in over a year, she had forgotten all about the state of the world and being a prisoner and inevitable doom, and she was just happy.


	21. Chapter 21

Attaku

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Chapter 21

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Pegasus slept at the other end of the castle, several floors down from the guest wing, and he spent a blissful night entirely unaware of the brief chaos in Mokuba's bedroom. When the noise abruptly stopped as all of his guests were transported away to Akuma, he rolled over in his sleep and didn't stir again until the morning.

xXx

"If it's not on the shore, then it's not our problem," Seto declared.

"We don't know if it's our problem or not; we don't know what it is," Joey argued. "What's the harm in checking things out?"

"Waking something that shouldn't be woken, or triggering some trap, or attracting negative attention," Seto snapped. "You've always had a habit of sticking your nose places where it didn't belong, Wheeler. Cut it out before you get us all killed."

"Says the guy who got possessed by Change of Heart because he got lost in the forest!" Joey said hotly.

"Stop," Yami said sternly. "Seto, that was out of line. Haven't you two realized by now that arguing will get you nowhere? It's counterproductive to our mission. And Joey, Seto is right. You made that point yourself. We don't have time to be investigating anything unnecessary, nor should we take the risk."

Mai gave Joey a curious look. "Why do you want to know so bad?" she whispered. True, Joey was curious by nature, but she'd thought he was more focused on the mission than this.

"Because-" Joey burst out, then stopped. "Because he's telling me to," he breathed, his eyes wide.

"What? Who's telling you to?" Mai asked sharply. She was worried; what was influencing Joey now? They kept running across enemies that they didn't know how to fight!

Joey's hands plunged into his pocket and he yanked out his deck, flipping through it as fast as he could. His hands were shaking. Finally they landed on the card he was looking for, and he breathed out in contentment.

"He wants to go in the lake," Joey said, holding aloft the Legendary Fisherman card that Mako Tsunami had given him over a year ago, back in Battle City.

Bakura hissed through his teeth as the golden lights in the lake abruptly went out.

xXx

Pegasus assumed that his guests were being lazy and sleeping off their stress. Breakfast came and went, but by lunchtime, he was starting to get worried. Perhaps they'd all stayed up late talking? Finally, he trotted up to the guest quarters, running down the hallway and calling their names. He got no answer. He checked the roof, looked around outside, and ran up and down all the floors.

It was dinnertime and he was exhausted before he had to concede that they had gone. Would they really be foolish enough to go after Yami and the others? And if so, why wouldn't they invite him along? Pegasus flounced into a chair, scowling heavily.

He and the rest of his servants were alone.

xXx

The jubilation resulting from Yugi and the others' arrival in the middle of the night had lasted for almost an hour, a flurry of stories and giggles and hugs, before Téa gasped. "Ra! He could be back at any moment!"

She and Odion explained that Ra had flown out earlier that day to supposedly crush a rebellion in the woods.

"It couldn't be Yami and the others, could it?" Yugi asked, suddenly looking alarmed.

Téa's hands flew to her mouth. "I didn't think of that! Are they out there?!"

"They should be coming from that direction," Ishizu said calmly, pointing.

Téa relaxed a little. "He flew off the other way, then. Maybe it's not."

"I'm sure it's not," Odion said reassuringly. "There were many survivors from the wreckage of Akuma, and even more people who must have been outside watching. They won't have taken the transformation of their world lightly, especially now that Ra is attacking humans. I'm not surprised that there is a rebellion. As a matter of fact, it's reassuring, no?"

"It is reassuring," Serenity said, brightening up. "There are others fighting!"

"But we don't know how long they'll last," Téa said, remembering her original point. "We have to get you guys hidden!"

"Maybe in the woods?" Duke suggested.

"You can't," Téa said regretfully. "It's hard to see in the dark, but there's a barrier of Shadow Magic surrounding the castle."

"We'll have to hide in the castle, then," Tristan said determinedly.

"There is a strong chance that Ra could discover us," Shadi cautioned. "I do not know his capabilities, but he may be able to sense the presence of other humans."

"Maybe," Téa said, biting her lip and remembering how Ra had found her so easily when she tried to run away.

"Especially me," Yugi said unhappily. "I'm afraid that there's still a connection between me and Yami, and I bet I – smell like magic," he finished lamely, unable to find more suitable words. Naturally, Marik and Malik snickered and made a great production of sniffing him and nodding sagely.

"Well, all we can do is try," Ishizu said firmly. "Malik, Marik, get your noses out of Yugi's armpits. Marik and Odion know this castle best. We need a place to hide."

"Wait!" Mokuba exclaimed, remembering his original mission. "The Millennium Rod is still here somewhere! On the grounds, I think."

"We cannot stop to search for it," Ishizu cautioned. "Perhaps Téa and Odion can, if Ra doesn't come back, though I would be cautious. You don't want to find the Millennium Rod _for_ him."

"Well, he can't be able to sense it, or he would have gotten it already," Téa reasoned.

"Can't Yugi use that magic he was talking about to find it?" Mokuba pleaded.

"Sorry," Yugi said, looking down. "I can't exactly tap _right_ into the power of the Puzzle, but even if I could, it's the Ring that finds Millennium Items."

"When Ryou gets here, he'll be able to find it in a jiff," Tristan promised Mokuba. "I've seen that Ring work."

"Okay," Mokuba said reluctantly. "But do we really have to hide right now? Can't we search until we see Ra coming back?"

"He's a fast flyer, I'm sorry to say," Odion said. "We might not see him until it's too late, and you wouldn't have time to make it to a safe place."

"Come on, kiddo," Ezra said, ruffling Mokuba's hair. "None of us want to get caught, and your brother wouldn't be very happy about it either. Better not take chances this time."

"O-kay," Mokuba said, drawing the words out. He creased his brow and looked up at Téa and Odion. "Will you two look, then? My brother is supposed to have that Rod!"

"We'll look," Téa promised gently. "Now come on. Let's go into the castle."

"Well, the safest place might be where we used to keep the God Cards," Marik considered. "But I'd be worried to try passing all those spells without the help of the Millennium Items. Hm. Maybe my old chambers?" Something seemed to occur to him, and he winced. "Actually, no. You might not appreciate the décor."

"I should point out that half the castle is collapsed," Téa said, ignoring the insinuation. She'd rather not know.

"Hmm," Marik pondered again. "Odion?"

"The dungeon?" Odion suggested hesitantly. "Well, no, that might be too close to the kitchens. Ra might come there to check up on us."

"Why not my old room?" Geoff suggested.

"We could try, but I think that part of the castle has collapsed," Odion replied.

"How about that girl's old rooms?" Marik suggested excitedly. "What was her name? Bakura would know. Your sister, Geoff."

He realized far later than everyone else that he had said something wrong. Ishizu looked away, a pained expression on her face. Yugi's face fell, Mokuba looked down, Malik bit his lip, and Ezra tentatively stepped towards Geoff.

Geoff's head was hanging down, his brown hair shadowing his face. Marik said meekly, "I remember now. Her name was Kaya."

"Yeah, let's go there," Geoff said unexpectedly, looking up. His face was set and unreadable. "I think she'd like that. It's like she's finding one last way of helping us."

Malik was probably the only one, other than Geoff, who knew that Kaya had once served Bakura. He guessed that she only obeyed him out of fear; luckily, something had happened to change her mind, and she started helping Ryou. She became a true ally eventually, helping Ryou escape just as Geoff led Malik out of his prison, although it had cost her her life.

_Maybe she __would__ actually like this_, Malik found himself thinking. _A way to atone for her mistakes_. He grimaced. _Just as I'm trying to atone for mine… I suppose I could be doing a better job of it_.

Marik led them into the palace. It wasn't an easy trek; for starters, most of the entrances were collapsed and impassable. He eventually had to enter through the kitchens and navigate through the servants' quarters, the one place he almost never frequented in the palace. Odion helped him find his way to a main hallway, and from there they searched for a way to get to Kaya's rooms. Most of the hallways were collapsed or missing a floor, and half the staircases were missing, so they had to take a circular route to get there. At one side hallway, Geoff stopped abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, noticing the lack of color in his face.

"I think…" Geoff poked his head around the corner and drew back.

"Bakura lived down there," Marik announced, doubling back to see what the holdup was. He too poked his head around the corner. "Whew! What a mess! Didn't Bakura say he did that himself?"

"I think my sister is back there," Geoff said weakly.

Yugi blinked, and stumbled a little. Geoff put his head around the corner again. Was it his imagination, or could he see a body in the flickering torchlight? Was that an outstretched hand?

"Oh, _don't_ go back there," Téa said, sounding alarmed. She imagined what a dead body looked like, after it had been sitting out in the open for over a week, and felt nauseous.

"Right," Geoff said, slumping back against the wall and breathing heavily. "Right…"

Marik actually looked sad. _Compassion_?, Téa wondered, as they continued quickly toward Kaya's rooms. Marik finally found an intact stairwell and they headed down, to the first underground level. A few more winding hallways, and they were at Kaya's rooms.

She hadn't bothered to lock the door behind her. One by one, the group filed in, looking around uncomfortably. The room was bare, save for a bed and a bureau and two shelves. Neat rows of bottles lined the shelves, and Geoff recognized the most basic plant ingredients that his family used for some spellcasting. Téa and Odion bid the group goodbye, and Odion promised to bring them some food in a few hours. Tristan and Duke had already loaded up on food and water when they passed through the kitchens earlier, and they silently deposited their bundles near the door.

Geoff sunk onto what had once been Kaya's bed. There were no personal mementos; the Rare Hunters who captured them had dragged them away from home without notice, so they hadn't had time to pack anything. He thought of how they had lived before that day, his mother and his sister and him. They'd been happy, living as healers. They'd been alone, but they'd been a family.

And then Marik, under the dark influence of the God Cards, killed his mother. Bakura, again because of the God Cards, lost his temper and exploded the hallway, and that killed his sister.

_And I've traveled with these people_, Geoff thought. _I'm sitting in my dead sister's room with the man that murdered my mother_.

He felt slightly sick and disoriented. For a moment, he wondered how he could ever have forgiven them. But he'd never been able to hold a grudge, unlike Kaya. Geoff couldn't help but understand Marik and Bakura; he knew they hadn't been in their right minds then, and he found it impossible to blame or hate them. He almost wished he could; it might make it easier to accept the loss of his family.

Geoff looked up and met Marik's eyes. He could tell that the other boy was remembering the murder of his mother too; Marik's eyes were clouded and his shoulders were slumped.

Geoff managed to pull his tired mouth into a small smile, and he nodded.

xXx

Mako woke up with a start. Involuntarily, he began to draw breath – and for some reason, it felt like he hadn't breathed in days – but instinct stopped him immediately after he opened his mouth. Cold water rushed in, and his memory returned. He and Aura had been walking through the desert, on their way to Akuma. They were looking for Yami, or Yugi, or anyone who would know about the strange Ties of Friendship card that Rebecca Hawkins had given him.

Then, without warning, someone – or something – had summoned the field card Umi, creating a lake in the middle of the desert. It had swept up Mako and Aura and buried them deep in the water. Mako had the strange feeling that he had blacked out, and now that he was awake again, he was disoriented. Which way was up? There was very little light; he must be deep underwater. And where was Aura?

Knowing that he had very little choice, Mako began to swim. He had no idea which direction was up, but after moving for a few moments, he sensed that he was going the wrong way. Blessing his instincts, and a life upon the sea, Mako reversed direction.

A moment later, he felt something brush his feet. He looked down, startled, and saw a very large 7 Colored Fish speed by. The Monster had barely missed its prey because of the sudden change in direction, but it quickly reversed its course. 7 Colored Fish and Mako stared at each other in the few gloomy rays of sun that penetrated this far, and the Monster slowly opened its mouth, revealing a row of large, pointy teeth.


	22. Chapter 22

Attaku

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Note: I don't know why I bother with suspense anymore… after I've pulled the near-death reversals for all the main characters in both Sakakku and this story, no one should be panicking about Mako confronting a fish. Haha.

And in case you were wondering, Ra Summoned all the Monsters he could find, never dreaming that some of them would rebel…

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Chapter 22

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Weevil lost sight of Rex and Espa as the rebels rushed into position. He was buffeted aside by a large Drake Worm, and unable to find his two comrades, rushed after Mystical Elf.

She was moving with ease through the camp, stopping to speak with a few select Duel Monsters or people. Tight groups were forming, Monsters were hiding in the trees, Magic and Trap Cards were burrowing into the ground, ready to spring out. The large trench that the Earth Monsters had dug was now filled with Water Monsters, most of them lurking beneath the surface.

He was skirting around the lake when a Zombie Monster confronted him. "Do you have a position, comrade?" it asked in a harried voice.

"Uh…" Weevil didn't know what to say. "I have my Deck," he suggested, "But I can't Summon anymore-"

"No, of course you can't Summon, Ra is the only one who can," the Zombie said distractedly. Its eye sockets were empty, but Weevil had the distinct impression that it was looking around. Weevil opened his mouth to argue, then it occurred to him that of course these Monsters and duelists wouldn't know about Yami… about the Pharaoh. He shut his mouth again; it was more effort than it was worth to explain.

"What type of duelist were you?" the Zombie asked.

"Insect," Weevil replied promptly.

"Over there," the Zombie pointed, then hurried off to manage another group.

Weevil looked, and saw a large crowd of Insect-type Monsters milling around in semi-ordered groups. He recognized almost all of them, and with a shrug, headed over.

"Hi," an even more frantic looking trainer said as Weevil approached. "Are you here to help?"

"I suppose," Weevil said, eyeing the crowd. "I'm an Insect duelist."

By the way the trainer looked at him suddenly, Weevil knew he had been recognized from his old days as a top duelist, where he was frequently on television. He felt gratified, and puffed his chest out a bit.

"Weevil Underwood?" the trainer asked incredulously, wringing his hand. "Wow! I used to watch you on TV! It's great to meet you! Thank goodness you're here, I had a plant deck and I've never really worked with bugs before, but I was the closest they had-"

"Fear no longer," Weevil said importantly, stepping past him. He eyed the Monsters, battle plans already forming in his head.

"Poisonous insects, over there! All except the spiders – I want you to follow this guy-" he motioned to the other trainer, watching avidly- "into the woods and start spinning some webs. When you've finished those, take up ambush positions in the brush. Go!"

xXx

Mako was fast underwater, but he was no match for a creature completely adapted to the environment. Still, he managed to dodge the 7 Colored Fish's next attack with a powerful kick of his legs, and by instinct, grabbed onto its head as it passed close by. His fingers latched onto the thick upper lip, and the Monster went crazy, writhing and thrashing and snapping its jaws. Mako clung determinedly on, but he was getting dizzy and he needed air.

Though he was dazed, Mako noticed that the water was getting lighter: the fish was heading for the surface. Though he didn't know what he was going to do next, his hopes soared at the possibility of getting a breath of air. But, just as his lungs were about to burst, he noticed a dark shape in the water ahead of him, legs churning. It was Aura, trying to swim for the surface, and the 7 Colored Fish was about to overtake her.

Mako desperately tried to force his fist further into the fish's mouth, to stop it from biting Aura, but the lack of oxygen had left him weak and he couldn't force his arm through the currant. He lost his grip and toppled away in the slipstream, and 7 Colored Fish opened its mouth wide to eat his friend.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a ripple in the water and 7 Colored Fish threw itself to the side, thrashing in agony once more. Mako swam for the surface, but just before he broke through, he glanced at the Monster and saw a long, slim spear buried in its side. Mako's face emerged into cool, sweet air, and he took great gulps, trying to slow his pounding heart. Next to him, Aura was doing the same thing.

Mako looked down again to find 7 Colored Fish diving back down, deep into the lake, unwilling to stick around and fight with whatever had wounded it. Mako automatically looked for his savior, and he thought his heart stopped. For a moment, he slipped back underwater, and reemerged spluttering.

Aura looked nervously around, but they were alone at the top of the lake, she and Mako and the Monster who had saved them. Her eyes moved from an apparently startled Mako, to the Monster: a wild-looking, black-haired man astride a shark. It carried another spear, as well as a strange-looking staff. The Monster looked remarkably like Mako himself, and with a start, she realized that this must be the card that Mako's father sent him. But what… how…?

Mako accepted the Monster's hand and clambered on back of the shark too. Aura stared at the two of them, who could be twins, as they approached her. Mako held out a hand, and Aura heaved herself up out of the water and atop the Monster too. Now that she was higher, she could see that they were not in fact alone: a group of seven humans stood at the edge of the bank, surrounded by various Monsters. She had to blink several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"HEY! MAKO!" A voice rang across the lake, and the sandy-haired boy at the water's edge jumped up and down. "IS THAT REALLY YOU?!"

xXx

"The God Card Ra… Summoned all these Monsters?" Mako asked, slightly stunned, wrapped in a blanket and sitting around a rock with Aura and the seven travelers.

"Basically," Joey confirmed. "About three days ago."

"Three days ago?!" Aura exclaimed. "How did Mako and I not notice this before now? The first thing we saw was Umi washing over us just now. I blacked out for a minute, then came to and swam for the surface when Joey's card showed up."

"I think," Yami said slowly, "that there was another factor."

"The golden lights," Bakura confirmed.

"We saw golden lights in the water when we first arrived," Yami explained. "We think they were from Swords of Revealing Light. It captured you and held you for three days."

Aura shook her head. It was a bit much to comprehend. Had she really been suspended underwater for three days? Ruefully, she remembered her desire to hold her breath for longer, and fought a strange urge to laugh. She reached out and pet the rough fur of the good-natured jackal traveling with the group; Anuba wagged her tail in response.

"It's amazing that we ran into you," Mako said, shaking his head.

"I guess it was more like we ran into you," Joey piped up. "And yeah, you sure are lucky."

"No, not that. Well, yes, I know, we're extremely fortunate," Mako acknowledged, with another grateful look at the Legendary Fisherman, still waiting in the water and watching the proceedings silently. "But it's amazing because we were looking for you," he said, addressing his comments to Yami.

"Me?"

"We've been to see your grandfather," Mako nodded.

"My_ – our grandfather?_" Yami asked, sounding thunderstruck. "You have? Is he well? What is he doing?"

"He's fine," Mako said. "He's living his life as well as he ever did. No more Game Shop, but he saved enough to live comfortably. He's still in touch with his old friend Arthur Hawkins, and he took us to visit Arthur with him." Mako met Yami's eyes. "We met Arthur's granddaughter too: Rebecca. She gave us this to return to you."

Yami accepted the Ties of Friendship card, his eyes softening. "It was really Yugi who gave it to her," he said, examining the card and then hesitantly offering it to Mako. "Would you like to find him? Or would you like me to return it, if I get the chance?"

"I'll track him down," Mako said, accepting the card back. "It's important because, you see-" he stopped short. The girl in the painting had vanished again. "There, you see!" he said hastily, showing Yami the card. "The woman on the card vanishes sometimes. Rebecca noticed it. According to Rebecca, the woman was gone for several weeks in a row, though lately she's been coming back for brief intervals."

Yami's eyes had widened, and the others gathered around now. Even Seto Kaiba was showing some interest. There was a collective intake of breath as the blank card shimmered, then the outline of the blonde woman reappeared, a smile on her delicate features.

"I've seen her before!" Mai said abruptly.

"Yeah, I saw this card too, when Pegasus gave it to Yugi," Joey said, examining it.

"No – we saw her in the Shadow Realm, remember, Joey? _This is Cecelia_!"

"Pegasus's wife?" Ryou questioned, wide-eyed.

"Kimo?" Yami asked sharply.

"For sure," Kimo said shakily. "I recognize her from Mr. Pegasus's other portraits."

Yami thumped a hand on his knee. "That's it!" he said loudly. "That's the reason why Cecelia visited all of our friends, that's how she was able to! Pegasus must have captured her essence on this card, and she can leave it – just as if someone were Summoning her! And cards can occasionally Summon themselves, if the need is great enough, like the Blue-Eyes did in the Shadow Realm."

He put his hand on the card and closed Mako's fingers around it.

"Can you bring this to Yugi and Pegasus?" he asked seriously. "They are together, in a castle several miles that way." He waved a hand.

"Of course I can," Mako replied, returning the card to his pouch. "Do you think it will help?"

"Cecelia's sure helped in the past," Joey mumbled, remembering all the occasions on which he had seen her, most memorably the time she had guided him to the safety of Shadi and Ishizu when he was lost in the desert.

Kimo started to speak, but changed his mind and kept his thoughts to himself. He had been hired by Pegasus long after Cecelia's death, but her presence lingered on regardless, through pictures and endless stories. This card would affect his former master deeply; but how, he could not say.

He was lost in his thoughts for a moment, and when he came to, the topic of conversation had changed. Yami was explaining to Mako how he and Yugi had split bodies, and giving a brief account of the events of the last year. Then he backtracked further, and explained to the rest of his companions how Mako had saved him after the duel with Joey.

"And then I left," Mako chimed in, concluding Yami's story, "to find my father." His eyes involuntarily moved to the Legendary Fisherman, bobbing silently in the water. The man and the Monster looked at each other for a moment, and then Mako looked at Yami again. "I did find him," he whispered to Yami, and then again to Joey: "I found my father."

"Your quest was successful?" Yami questioned, remembering when they had last parted.

"Hey – that's great!" Joey added, bouncing a little. "Where was he? Where's he now?"

Mako explained; his friends gathered round and sympathized and exclaimed. Once all vital news was exchanged, Seto finally stirred anxiously and suggested to the group that they resume moving.

"We'll head to the castle," Mako declared, looking at Aura to confirm. She nodded willingly. "Which direction should we be traveling?"

"It's a dangerous route," Seto said unexpectedly.

"Maybe they should get out of the forest as soon as possible, and skirt the edges?" Mai suggested, her brow furrowed. "The problem is, we don't know exactly which way is fastest out of the forest."

"It'd be best if they had a Monster guarding them," Ryou suggested quietly.

"I think so," Bakura concurred. "Better yet, Yami, let us give them a Flying Monster. They are not bound to secrecy, as we are. A Flying Monster can get them above the treeline, away from most of the threats, and they can head directly and quickly to Pegasus's castle."

There was general agreement among the members of the group; Mako and Aura also acquiesced, but with some trepidation. They exchanged looks; they were both at home in the sea and did not know what to expect of air travel.

Yami extended an arm and Summoned his Winged Dragon. Kimo helped Mako and Aura climb, somewhat shakily, onto the back of the beast, and then Yami handed them the card.

"Fly safely," Yami cautioned his Dragon, patting it.

"And quickly," Kimo added quietly.

Mako was barely paying attention; he was looking again at Legendary Fisherman, this time with wistfulness in his eyes. Joey, watching his expression, approached Mako cautiously. "Here," he said, stretching out his hand.

Mako looked; Joey was holding Legendary Fisherman's card. He only hesitated a moment, then smiled.

"No, my friend," he said gently but firmly. "Once, you won that from me in a duel. Now I ask you to keep it – as a gift. I have seen my father, and I have better ways to remember him." He touched his head, then his heart. "You've made good use of Legendary Fisherman… and you've saved my life with it. Please keep it, and continue to do good."

Legendary Fisherman itself appeared to be pleased with the decision, and disappeared from the water, back into the card. Joey, appreciative and understanding, replaced the card back with the rest of his deck.

There seemed to be nothing else to say after this exchange, and Winged Dragon took off, flying swiftly and surely in the direction of Pegasus's castle.


	23. Chapter 23

Attaku

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Chapter 23

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The group of seven watched Mako and Aura fly high into the air until they had well cleared the tree line; Winged Dragon made a beeline for Pegasus's castle. When it was out of sight, Yami made a hand gesture, and the group began moving again, swiftly and quietly. Dark Magician Girl and Dark Witch swooped into the air again, scouting out the path ahead with sharp eyes; the group's Magic and Trap cards leapt out and swept the area.

They had correctly calculated that a single Duel Monster flying would not catch the attention of Ra, since there were so many Monsters out of their cards now. Their plan might have gone smoothly, but for an unfortunate, fatal coincidence.

Mako and Aura were nearly at Pegasus's castle when an insubstantial wraith of a blonde woman appeared on Winged Dragon alongside them. She gave Aura such a fright that she nearly fell off, and had to seize onto the Dragon's rough scales to catch herself.

"You're from the Ties of Friendship Card!" Aura blurted, even while wincing as she cut her hand on the edge of a scale.

Cecelia did not directly respond; her eyes were wild. "Ra's servants have noticed you!" she warned.

Almost at that exact moment, Winged Dragon pulled up abruptly; it hesitated a moment, then veered off course and sped towards the ground.

Mako had to grab onto both Winged Dragon and Aura to maintain his balance, although luckily he avoided injury. "What's happening?" he hollered, trying to make himself heard as the sharp wind rushed by; then he noticed something that answered his question almost immediately.

A group of nasty-looking Monsters had been riding the thermals high above them. The presence of humans – humans! – riding on top of a Duel Monster – treating Monsters, once again, like common pets, like slaves – had clearly enraged them. Winged Dragon was perceptive enough to notice their aggressive behavior and, also wisely recognizing that there were too many of these Monsters to successfully engage them in a fight, was on the defensive. It had the lower ground, which would make it difficult to defend itself from an assault from above; so it was speeding closer to the ground now, hoping to lose its attackers in the trees.

Winged Dragon was nearly at the treeline when there was a rattling from below. Instinctively, the Dragon leveled off, and just in time; from below, another gang of the same Monsters emerged. They were small but fierce-looking; they batted ratty wings attached to blue, humanoid bodies, equipped with sharp talons on their hands and feet. There was a wiry strength to these Monsters; Mako, with his range of tactical experience, guessed that these Monsters defeated their enemies by swarming in mobs, grabbing on, and pulling their opponents to pieces. A minute later, he recognized them as being called Winged Minions.

"Since I found that you were taking me back to my husband, I have been keeping an eye on our surroundings to ensure our safe travel, which is how I came to detect the presence of these Monsters," Cecelia explained breathlessly. Almost absently, she grabbed Aura's injured hand and despite their dire straits, the girl felt a pleasant tingling; when Cecelia released it, her cut was healed. "These Winged Minions are scouting out the land, and the presence of two humans riding a Duel Monster attracted them – or should I say repulsed them? They plan on attacking us and taking you prisoner, if possible, to bring back to Ra for questioning."

Aura looked at their quickly-approaching attackers, and then past them. "Three of them are already fleeing north! Are they heading back to Ra?"

"I should say that is definitely their intention," Cecelia said grimly. "But we must focus on our immediate peril."

"Winged Dragon may be strong, but I don't know if it can hold back these attackers, just due to their sheer numbers!" Mako said in a low voice. There were about a dozen Winged Minions above them, and another six or seven emerging from the trees below.

Winged Dragon, meanwhile, had been preparing itself for assault. It maneuvered into a defensive position, angling as far away from the creatures below as possible, keeping all of them in its front field of view so that there was no one at its back. It snorted an angry stream of fire in anticipation of the fight, and displayed its sharp talons. Aura was impressed at its bravery, but did not see a way out of their current predicament.

"Have you any cards?" Cecelia demanded, turning to the two humans.

Aura blinked with surprise. She looked at Mako, who looked equally confused. "You mean a deck? No; the Rare Hunters took my deck away. They took everyone's deck away when Marik and Bakura took over."

"Not everyone's," Mako corrected. "They let the elite citizens keep their deck, remember? As playthings. And-" he reached into his pocket slowly and pulled out a deck. "Because I remained in hiding, they never got mine."

"What good will it be?" Aura asked eagerly. "Can you Summon Monsters?" But even as she asked that, she felt the momentary spark of hope fading; because surely if Mako was capable of Summoning, as Yami and the others they had just met were, he would have done so before now.

But Cecelia was the one to answer her question. "I am neither a Duel Monster nor a human; I am something else, trapped in the spiritual realm. I can tap into the power of the Pharaoh and of the Millennium Items. Use me as a focal point for the energy needed to Summon."

"What cards do you have?" Aura asked immediately, turning to Mako. Almost as quickly, he began to surf through his deck, his brow furrowing. "All my cards are Water types," he remarked, flipping through one useless card after another. Giant Jellyfish – Great White Terror – none of these would be useful in an aerial battle.

"You don't have anything that can fly?" Aura questioned, her brow furrowing. "What about Magic or Trap Cards that might help us out?"

It had been a long time since Mako had looked through his deck – there hadn't been a need to in over a year. "I – wait!" He suddenly remembered a card he had won in Battle City; he hadn't thought about it much since it had been a relatively new acquisition at the start of Marik and Bakura's reign. Flipping through even more rapidly, he stopped at the beautiful card and showed it to Aura. "Golden Flying Fish!" It wasn't technically a water attribute – it was a Light Monster – but he had liked it when he first won it, thinking that it would fit in well with his deck while giving him some flexibility.

"Go for it!" Aura breathed. At that moment, the Winged Minions responded to some signal to attack; loosing unearthly screeches from their twisted mouths, the creatures from above dive-bombed Winged Dragon.

More instinctively than deliberately, Mako plunged his conscious into the card, silently willing the Monster to emerge. He felt energy from Cecelia flowing from him into the card; it was a strange feeling and made his whole body thrum; then in another minute it was over. Blinding light appeared; Aura threw an arm over her face and Mako grabbed onto her as Winged Dragon gave a jolt and then angled downwards again, opening its jaws and releasing a stream of fire at the Winged Minions below.

The light flashed, then faded; Mako looked up to see Golden Flying Fish soaring gracefully through the air, parting the tight ranks of the Flying Minions. Some of them were already toppling towards the ground, injured from the Fish's first assault. The Golden Fish opened its jaws again and released another stream of concentrated light; more Monsters toppled out of mid-air, and the rest threw up their hands to cover their eyes.

Mako and Aura missed most of the rest of the battle, being mostly preoccupied with holding on as Winged Dragon spiraled through the air, taking out opponents by slashing at them with powerful limbs and sharp claws, biting into some and tearing them to pieces, and scorching the rest with fire. It was very conscientious of the humans on its back and took care to protect them from the Flying Minions, even when it meant flipping over midair and leaving its belly exposed. Winged Dragon suffered a few shallow cuts and a deep one on its underside, scratching across from belly to right foreleg; the humans were badly shaken and left with terrible headaches, but otherwise undamaged.

Golden Flying Fish alone seemed untouched by the battle. Still floating gracefully through the air, its skin shimmering with every color of the rainbow and delicate ribbons floating behind it, it approached Winged Dragon.

"Wow," was all Aura managed to gasp. She blinked a few times, slowly, then peered through blurry eyes to the horizon. She could no longer see the Winged Minions who had chosen not to fight, but instead to flee to Ra and bring him news of their presence. "Oh no!" she said, dismayed. "The other Winged Minions have escaped!"

"There is nothing we can do anymore," Cecelia said grimly. "They have too much of a head start for us to pursue them."

"Will this be very bad?" Mako questioned, his voice a little wobbly. He patted Winged Dragon on the shoulder gratefully.

"They will tell him what they have seen," Cecelia said somberly, "And if he uses his power to look for us, it is likely that he will notice Max's palace – with its stronghold of Duel Monster Cards."

Neither Mako nor Aura had any idea of exactly how many cards the famed Maximillion Pegasus had in his home, but they both realized with a sinking feeling that it would probably be quite a lot.

"Is it possible that he will also notice the Pharaoh and the rest of his band?" Mako asked abruptly. His hands clenched and his knuckles turned white.

Cecelia considered this grave possibility carefully, but finally shook her head slowly. "I should think it unlikely. The Winged Minions will have reported that we are going south, and the Pharaoh's group of seven is traveling north ever more quickly, even as we speak. I think perhaps that we may even get lucky, and this will work to our advantage. Ra will discover Max's palace, and the fight will be brought to us, and it is we who will have to defend the palace for as long as we are able. And in doing this, we will draw Ra from his castle and give our allies a chance to infiltrate it unnoticed."

"Lucky us," Aura said, somewhat ironically.

"If I can buy them time, I will," Mako said quietly. "But – Aura – I don't want to drag you into this fight any more than I already have. Let us drop you off somewhere safe before Cecelia and I head on to Pegasus's palace."

Aura looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "Both of us have been dragged into all this," she pointed out. "I can't pretend to understand why, but we've been given a chance. We started out fighting for our lives; but things have gotten bigger than you or I now. It's the world we're fighting for, and I've been given an opportunity to help, and I'm not about to turn my back on it. It's not enough to leave things to other people, Mako, because if that was everyone's attitude, we would never make progress. I'll stand up. You'll stand up. Pegasus will stand up. Yami and Joey and their friends are standing up. Maybe, if we all stand up together – well, we might actually get something done. We've already started this – now we're going to finish it."

"Well-spoken," Cecelia said before Mako had a chance to reply. With a nod to both of them, she disappeared, as did Golden Flying Fish. Mako looked at the Ties of Friendship card and noted that she had returned to picture form, at least for now. He sighed and pocketed his deck. Winged Dragon flew steadily on, and very shortly, the castle on the island came into view. Mako and Aura gazed at it contemplatively. Everything had so far seemed a distant dream, practically unreal. But up ahead was the site where, if Cecelia was right, their final battle would take place. Neither of them really thought that, once entering the palace and making it ready to defend Ra's assault, they would ever leave it again.

But that was the price they recognized must be paid – and they were willing to pay it to buy Yami time; for the fate of the world depended on the success of his mission.


	24. Chapter 24

Attaku

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Note: Whenever I needed a card (whether Monster, Trap, or Magic) for this story, I've mostly looked it up online (using such brilliant search terms as "yugioh card trap cold"). Using the same strategy I uncovered an awesome new Monster for this chapter… I just don't think it's real! It's hard to tell from the website but apparently now people are making their own cards online?! But, the Monster fit my purposes so nicely that I was kind of like "Well who says Pegasus wouldn't have made this one too!" So this is probably the first not-real card I've used in this trilogy.

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Chapter 24

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"We should form a plan for when we get closer to Akuma," Yami said, as they stopped for the night. Mai and her monsters were to have first guard, and she was busy Summoning all her Harpy Ladies, but she looked up long enough to say "I agree. We've learned from experience that _plan_ tends to work better than _no plan_."

"That's why I didn't bring Malik along," Yami said with a perfectly straight face. Bakura found the dig at his friend hilarious and let out a howl of laughter before he realized that he was laughing at one of the Pharaoh's jokes.

"I agree too. We have to be prepared for the possibility that Ra left a ring of guards around the castle," Seto said. "I don't see how we can make our approach perfectly secret, but we can't just show up and expect to fight our way through to the shadow-barrier."

"Can we go invisible somehow?" Joey wondered. "A Trap Card or a Magic Card?"

Mai pursed her lips. "Somehow I think Ra would have considered that. I bet he has the whole place rigged to catch Trap or Magic Cards."

"Feather Duster has been working so far," Seto pointed out.

"Unfortunately, I happen to know that there are some cards with the ability to circumvent a reverse-trap such as Feather Duster," Kimo contributed. "Master Pegasus would occasionally discuss some of his ideas with me. For instance, right before all this happened, he released a card that would suck in a reverse-trap and unleash the original trap on the owner as planned. Sort of a Mirror Force that repels Trap Cards, if you will. Such cards were uncommon and I haven't been afraid of running into any in the woods… but if Ra were going to choose anything to defend his castle, I'd expect something like that."

"I'd say we can't be too careful," Bakura said. "We should assume the worst, assume that traps we've never even dreamed before will be waiting for us." _Just like in tombrobbing_, he mentally added.

"Well I feel cheerful," Joey groused, lying down and putting his head on his pack for a pillow. His eyelids immediately began to flutter dangerously. Anuba happily threw herself on the ground next to him, and Joey lazily scratched her tummy.

"We could try something like Magic Boxes," Yami said, furrowing his brow. "I could go first to make sure it's safe-"

"I think we ought to stick together," Mai declared firmly.

"Well, does anyone else have any bright ideas?" Seto asked, frustrated.

There was silence around the group, and then Ryou unexpectedly raised his hand.

"The chair recognizes Ryou Bakura," Mai quipped, smiling a little. Ryou blushed.

"What if we went underground?"

There was more silence. Seto was tempted to ask "What, dig a hole with a shovel?", just because he was in a bit of a temper and being snide always made him feel better, but he held it in – mostly because he immediately recognized how good Ryou's idea was.

"I mean I don't have a Monster that can burrow," Ryou added hastily. "But maybe one of you does?"

"Does anyone?" Yami asked eagerly. Although he knew his deck inside-out, he leafed through again desperately, until Kimo spoke up, "I do."

Everyone looked over quickly. "You sure have a random deck assemblage," Joey said sleepily.

"I never had my own deck," Kimo admitted, flushing a bit. "Before we left, Master Pegasus gave me as many different cards that he thought might be helpful on this journey as he could."

"Dragon Phantom Digger?" Seto asked in disbelief, peering closely at the formidable-looking Machine Monster that Kimo held. "No way. That's really rare."

"Wow," Joey said, managing to pry his eyes open long enough to admire the Monster. "I should have been best friends with Pegasus too. Then he'd give me awesome cards like that."

"I think that's a brilliant plan, Ryou," Yami said sincerely, making the boy blush worse than ever.

"Would we be able to dig straight into Akuma?" Mai wondered hopefully.

"I wouldn't count on it," Bakura advised. "I bet that shadow-barrier extends underground, even if we can't necessarily see it."

"So we'll have to pop out right before Akuma," Seto said. "I wonder how difficult it will be, to judge our position while underground."

Yami frowned. "I'd guess that I'll be able to detect the strong shadow-magic. Figuring out when to emerge shouldn't be too difficult, as long as we head in the right direction when we first go under."

"Meaning we should wait as long as possible to go underground," Seto surmised, "so we can travel as accurately as possible."

"There are other good reasons to wait," Ryou added. "If we're followed underground, we won't be able to fight properly in such a confined space. We could be too easily trapped."

Yami nodded. "We knew all along that complete secrecy would be impossible. I vote that we get as close to Akuma as possible before Dragon Phantom Digger clears a tunnel for us. Then we can temporarily evade Ra's servants. We'll emerge right in front of the shadow-barrier and get to the other side as fast as possible."

"And how are we going to get to the other side?" Seto asked skeptically.

"Let's vote on Ryou's plan first," Mai interrupted. "I say aye too."

"Aye," Bakura contributed.

"Aye," Seto said, followed by ayes from Ryou himself and Kimo. Joey gave the final "aye" along with a jaw-cracking yawn.

"Okay, about the shadow-barrier," Seto said determinedly.

"I have a plan for that too," Yami said with a small smile. "But perhaps we should wait to vote on that until the morning?"

"_Aye_," Joey said, with much more enthusiasm this time, and promptly began to snore.

xXx

The formerly well-organized rebel camp had become a disaster. Half the forest had erupted in flames as Fire-type Monsters did battle. The trench where the Water Monsters had lurked was a muddy, mucky mess and some of the Monsters were beached on land. A poor Fortress Whale thrashed about helplessly in only a few inches of water while horrible Medusa Worms swarmed all over it.

Weevil took a deep breath and dashed out of the forest briefly, sprinting across an open space to another area of patchy tree cover. A Necroshade noticed him and pursued him into the forest. Weevil dived under a shrubbery while several Hunter Spiders dropped down from the trees in a planned ambush and made short work of Necroshade.

"Good going, guys," Weevil said shakily. He had settled into this pattern a while ago, making himself the bait and leading Ra's minions into the forest where his insect friends ambushed them.

The fight had been going on for what felt like days, although Weevil guessed that it had been a few hours. The initial hullabaloo had begun when a Psychic Jumper foresaw that Ra was on his way. A few stray Monsters then began attacking the rebel camp from out of the forest; the perimeter guards dispatched most of them, and Weevil set up a squadron of poisonous insects that took care of the rest.

But then, much sooner than they expected, Ra had appeared. He flew so fast that they only had a minute's warning, from the time he was first spotted to the time he arrived. Ra lit into them with ferocity, burning and crushing and sending everything in his path to the Shadow Realm. His minions followed him into action eagerly, engaging all the rebels in battle.

The rebels were not entirely unprepared. They first launched a vicious assault at Ra, dozens of winged Monsters attacking his underbelly as he swooped down upon the camp, Catapult Turtle sending others into the air to attack. When the ground Monsters arrived, the well-trained rebels crushed them. It would have been an easy fight if it was just the rebel Monsters versus Ra's allies, especially since the rebels had the humans to spy and plan. But Ra was a more vicious opponent than the entire rank of his minions. Even so, the rebels were certainly putting up a fight; the battle had already lasted much, much longer than Ra had intended. It was now night, and the fighting continued by the light from Fire Monsters.

Humans were particularly vulnerable; they could never hold their own in battle against ferocious Monsters. They did the best they could, but were picked off quickly; Weevil had seen countless people banished to the Shadow Realm by Ra. Rex had fallen a few hours ago, during the last moments of twilight. He had thrown himself at a Wroughtweiler when it made as if to assault a weakened Gilasaurus. Wroughtweiler had thrown him angrily to the dirt, but Rex bought enough time for Gilasaurus to get out of the way. Electric Virus swept by and took down the machinelike Wroughtweiler.

Espa Roba had seen Rex's brave attack and subsequent injury. He began to run out of his hiding place in the forest to his friend's aid, but before he made it beyond the tree cover, Ra's black shadow magic streaked from the sky, banishing Rex, Gilasaurus, and several nearby Monsters to the Shadow Realm in one fell swoop.

Espa was currently working in the forest with some of the psychic Monsters, including Psychic Jumper, acting as a liaison between these Monsters and the generals left in the field. Mystical Elf, looking much the worse for the wear, her long dress torn and stained, appeared before him. He quickly updated her on the Monsters' latest predictions, including the fact that a large squadron of Earth Monsters were tunneling their way into the camp, and Psychic Sage's feeling that a second battle would soon begin on new grounds.

"That's good news," Mystical Elf said hopefully. "It means enough of us survive to fight another day! I'll go tell our own Earth Monsters to be on the lookout for an assault from below."

She swept back out into the fray. Espa was avoiding distracting the psychic Monsters, but he couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Is that true? Does it mean we might win this round?"

Jinzo shook his head hopelessly, but Psychic Sage responded, its eyes distant. "We will lose this round, I think. But not all of us will be gone. And we will fight again."

xXx

Ra shook off a few of the winged rebel Monsters clinging to him, and banished them with a blast of Shadow Magic. He rose high into the air for a moment, leaving the battle far below. He needed to rest. This battle was taking far longer than he had anticipated! The rebels had been remarkably prepared, something he hadn't anticipated, and many of his troops had fallen to ambushes. The rebels had made excellent use of their Magic and Trap Cards. Ra still would not admit to himself that this was thanks to human intervention; humans had an intellectual understanding of Magic and Trap Cards that Monsters had never bothered to learn.

Excitement from the south caught his attention. He cast his gaze far into the distance and noticed a band of Winged Minions flying his way furiously. Ra had sent out various scouting groups, and he recognized the three Winged Minions as being from one of them. Curiously, he extended his consciousness towards the lead one.

The Winged Minion, feeling the powerful touch of such a vast mind, squeaked in fright and tumbled in midair. It caught itself and shamefully opened up its mind for Ra to read its thoughts. In a blur, sequences flashed before Ra's eyes: flying. Encountering Monsters opposed to Ra. Encountering Monsters who wished to fight for Ra and wanted only to learn how. A man and woman, flying atop of a Monster.

Ra snarled in anger at that last image – how dare these humans treat Monsters like mere animals – but he would not have paid attention to it if it were not for the next image.

The man, Summoning a Golden Flying Fish to dispatch the rest of the Winged Minions.

Ra withdrew from the Winged Minion's mind, furious. How had this human Summoned? As a god, only Ra himself could Summon! True, those with Millennium Items could also Summon – for now. Perhaps this human was in possession of a Millennium Item. If this was the case, he needed to find and dispatch the human, and take the Millennium Item for himself.

Ra could search the world with his mind, but his ability to sense magic grew dimmer the further away he went. At great distances, too, he needed to be very specific where he looked – he could be searching for a Millennium Item, but if he was only several miles off base, he would never find it.

He ruthlessly pushed his way back into the Winged Minion's mind, ignoring the distressed squeaks of the Monster. He located where the incident with the human had taken place, and followed in his mind's eye the path that Winged Dragon had been travelling on before the battle.

_There_. It was almost a direct line – Winged Dragon had been right on course. A hotspot of magic pulsed hazily in the distance. With all of his strength, Ra focused on that magic.

A roar erupted from his mouth involuntarily, so loud and ferocious that it shook the surrounding air. The battle below paused for a moment as every creature turned as one to stare up at Ra. The god ignored them all.

_Duel Monster Cards!_ Thousands of them! His creatures, his fellow Monsters, still enslaved in those cards!

Ra had learned enough to know that not all Monsters would fight on his side. Still, he knew that the majority of them would be on his side, and he had to go release those prisoners.

It was time to end this battle. The upcoming one would be fought on a much bigger scale, with much more at stake.

He ruffled his feathers angrily, then swooped down for a final assault. The rebels were caught unprepared by his ferocity; he ravaged allies and enemies alike with his claws and whipped his tail and sent every creature he could see to the Shadow Realm. Weevil Underwood was among those caught in the final assault; a giant globe of Shadow Magic sent him and the majority of his insect troops to the Shadow Realm in one dizzying impact.

When Ra's savage rampage was over, he called to his allies.

"We have a bigger battle before us. Let us leave the few survivors to weep for their fallen and to nurse their wounds, and we shall march onwards to fight the last rebellion we will ever need to crush!"

With an almighty roar, Ra soared away from the rebel camp for good. His allies bounded away from the camp, heading south; the weak rebel survivors watched them go, trying to disguise their feelings of relief.

Ra had learned one lesson from this battle. He had rushed into battle himself, confident that he could singlehandedly take down the rebels. He had not waited for the majority of his allies to catch up, so the few that made it to the forest in time for the battle were sorely outnumbered. His next opponents at Pegasus's castle would be far more numerous. So, too, would his own troops, since he would liberate many from the castle. However, he was taking no chances. Instead of flying to the castle at top speed, he would move with his army. He would send word that all Monsters who wanted to fight for Ra, for a better world, for freedom from human enslavement, should join him on his quest to liberate their kind. His ranks would swell and by the time they marched to Pegasus's castle, they would be ready for the fight.

The rebel survivors watched as Ra and his army quickly disappeared into the darkness of the night. The noise of the moving troops faded much more slowly, and through the rest of the night, as the rebels put out the fires and redug the trenches for the Water Monsters and healed the injured, they heard the noise of the army receding into the distance. The war cries and sound of trampling feet only disappeared for good at dawn.

As the rosy light permeated the remains of the camp, the same Zombie general who had greeted Weevil Underwood and his friends when they first arrived approached Mystical Elf. For a while, the two leaders did not say anything, just paused to survey the camp. It was difficult to read the expression on the Zombie's face, but Mystical Elf's face was set in a renewed determination.

"What next?" the Zombie finally broke the silence with a raspy whisper.

"We should give everyone the day to rest and recover. We'll need to reform our ranks. Take inventory of who is left, get the Magic and Trap Cards back in line." Mystical Elf lifted her face towards the rising sun. "Then tomorrow morning, we shall march to Akuma."

xXx

It took Ra and his army three days to march to Pegasus's. In those three days, Monsters from all over the former lands of Egypt and all the surrounding areas poured in to join the fight. Ra's army was not organized in any typical fashion. Ra himself had never worried about such petty details; he had always been powerful enough to overcome any opponent easily. None of the Duel Monsters had ever had to create an internal structure either; it was not in their nature.

Téa, perhaps, would have understood that this lack of self-organization was what made the Shadow Realm so brutal and chaotic, which was why the Monsters wanted to escape it in the first place. Téa might have pointed out that the Monsters would ruin this world as badly as they had ruined the Shadow Realm, and suggested that the solution might lie in cooperation with humans, who did have the ability to create infrastructure. She would have advocated balancing the amazing natural ability of Monsters with the unique human perspective of strategy.

Even if she had been there to explain this to Ra, however, he would not have listened.

Ra was convinced that he would win the battle and the war with brute force, and indeed, there was something to be said for sheer numbers. By the time they arrived at the gates of the castle, Ra's ranks were swollen to unprecedented amounts; it was quite possible that Ra's army already outnumbered all of the Duel Monster Cards lying within the castle, without even counting the Cards that would prove loyal to Ra.

Yet other changes were taking place in those three days. Pegasus and his friends had time to prepare the castle, and Yami and the Millennium Item bearers reached Akuma.


	25. Chapter 25

Attaku

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Note: Am I safe in saying that Pegasus painted the Ties of Friendship card after he acquired the Millennium Eye, or is there evidence to the contrary?

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Chapter 25

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"Well," Pegasus said faintly. "That's quite a story."

Gently, reverently, he stroked the Ties of Friendship card that Mako had handed over when he and Aura first arrived at the castle. Aura was looking around, and Mako was frowning quizzically at the floor.

"And Yami didn't mention anything about where Yugi and the others might be?" Pegasus continued, looking up. "And you didn't see any trace of Yugi leaving the area as you were flying in?"

"No," Aura said.

"Yami clearly thought Yugi was still here with you," Mako explained.

"It's a mystery," Pegasus said, frowning deeply, looking away from Cecelia's card for a moment. "I can't understand why they would have left without saying anything to me. I can't help but wonder if something bad happened – but wouldn't I have noticed if anyone broke into the castle? How could all-" he paused a moment, counting under his breath- "Yugi, Mokuba, Ezra, Serenity, Duke, Tristan, Geoff, Marik, Malik, Shadi, Ishizu- how could all _eleven_ of them just disappear in the middle of the night?!"

"Have you searched the castle?" Mako asked.

"It's a large castle, but I've been through every hallway calling their names. I checked some of the bedrooms, too, and no luck."

"Maybe they left a note somewhere?" Aura suggested.

"Hmm." Pegasus frowned again. "Perhaps. That's an idea; I'll have to do a more thorough search of their sleeping chambers. But that will have to wait." He looked again at Cecelia's card, and his face was so plainly wrought with longing and anticipation that Mako felt uncomfortable. He almost asked whether he and Aura should leave the room, but decided that they needed to stay long enough to decide on a battle strategy.

Pegasus held the card aloft, and closed his eyes tightly. The shimmering half-image of Cecelia appeared, in the same position as on the Ties of Friendship card – eyes closed, hands clasped, hair streaming out behind her – and then she opened her eyes and smiled at her husband.

"Cecelia," Pegasus said, and it came out in an agonized half-gasp. Mako decided then that battle strategies could wait, and he and Aura beat a quiet retreat from the room.

xXx

"And to think, I'm actually glad for that barrier of Shadow Magic now," Téa said dryly.

Odion managed a half-smile in agreement.

They were standing at the tallest remaining point of the castle, looking out at what remained of Akuma. From this vantage point, they could see over the river-like ring of Shadow Magic encircling the castle. Téa had wondered aloud if the Shadow-Magic only really kept things out at ground level, and if flying Monsters could cross it. To test that theory, Odion had thrown a rock over the barrier, and they both winced as it disappeared seemingly into midair. Apparently the Shadow-Magic was really a bubble around the castle. Odion had asked why the rest of the Shadow-Magic bubble was invisible; Téa thought that it was Ra's preference for fresh air – he had been trapped in the Shadow Realm for so long, and fought to be in this world instead, that there was no way he wanted to live in a bubble of more Shadow Realm.

They were glad for that barrier now, because while it prevented them from getting out, it also prevented other things from getting in. Duel Monsters, apparently loyal to Ra, had been gathering around the castle.

Téa and Odion had seen a huge army marching away from the rebel camp in the forest to somewhere down south; they could only guess that there was another rebel resistance. From what Téa could tell, most Duel Monsters had headed south with Ra, but some Monsters were too far north at the time of Ra's call to join the main body of the army. Instead, these Monsters were gathering outside the gates of Akuma.

"You know, there is little point in the others remaining hidden now," Odion said quietly. "When Ra gets back and lets all those Monsters in the castle, they are done for. Even if Ra keeps the barrier up, our friends have no chance of escaping. Our best bet is to find the Millennium Rod like Mokuba suggested."

Téa nodded. She and Odion had launched their own search for the Rod, but it was harder than she had first imagined. There were many places where the earth had been kicked up, so they had to go digging through dirt; there was also rubble strewn around, and they had to move aside stones to check underneath. "Alright," she sighed. "Let's go get them. They'll be happy, at least."

"I don't know if I'd be so happy," Odion said with a wry smile.

xXx

When Pegasus called Mako and Aura back into the room, his manner was brisk and businesslike, though his one real eye was tinged with red.

"First, perhaps, a little explanation might be in order?" Pegasus suggested. "Cecelia explained to me exactly how she came to be here."

"Remember that I died many years ago," Cecelia explained matter-of-factly. "Max set out on a quest to regain me, which culminated in his obtainment of the Millennium Eye. Shortly thereafter, he painted the Ties of Friendship card with my likeness. What he did not realize what that, as he poured out his soul, the power of his Millennium Item captured my essence.

"Through the magic of the Millennium Items, I have been tethered to this card, much as Duel Monsters are brought from another dimension and tethered to their cards. I did not, however, come from the same alternate dimension as the Monsters. The Shadow Realm is a real world, albeit one with magic. I came from the great beyond, and I have thus taken on, for lack of better words, a more spiritual nature. This is how I can travel anywhere and study the innermost thoughts of all beings."

"Okay," Aura said, a bit shakily. "That makes sense, I suppose." When she thought about it too hard, it didn't make sense at all – just as Monsters coming to life didn't make sense – but what else was there to say?

"This must be why you can Summon – because you are linked to the Millennium Eye," Mako reasoned. He and Aura exchanged brief glances, communicating without words how odd it was to be in this strange situation.

"Exactly," Cecelia nodded.

"So what next?" Pegasus asked, returning to their immediate predicament.

"Ra is on his way with an enormous army," Cecelia cautioned. "He is coming to liberate the Duel Monsters and, I fear, to destroy you for your role in their imprisonment."

"Actually, when you think about it, I provided the means for their escape from the Shadow Realm," Pegasus grumbled. "I don't suppose we could appeal to Ra's logic?"

Unexpectedly, Aura laughed. "That can be Plan A."

"But I think we might need a Plan B," Mako added with a grim half-smile.

Pegasus lifted his chin. "Well, we won't let Ra take us without a fight. We should begin Summoning Monsters now and set up the castle's defenses."

"I have a question," Aura asked hesitantly. "Well, while many Monsters are on our side, some of them have shown that they would rather side with Ra. How do we make sure we only Summon the ones who will fight _with_ us, not _against_ us?"

Pegasus bowed his head. "I had the same concern. I don't think that there is a way, unless-" he looked quizzically at Cecelia, but she shook her head.

"No. I cannot know the hearts of Monsters."

"Well, I can," Mako said unexpectedly. When everyone turned to look at him, he flushed. "That is, I know that some of these cards are my friends." He reached into his pocket and touched his deck. "We have fought many battles together. People consider that Duel Monster Cards are just that, cards, lifeless sheets of paper. But any duelist who takes the game seriously knows that the cards have a heart. We don't talk about it, because our minds tell us that technology controls these holograms. Those who openly profess a belief in the heart of the cards were mocked." For a moment, he smiled, remembering Seto Kaiba and Yugi and Yami's legendary feuds, what felt like a lifetime ago. "We know now that they have been proven right, but there were many of us who secretly believed it nonetheless before. Duelists like myself treated our cards with love and respect. And I know my cards. They will reward my loyalty with fidelity. I know my deck will fight with us."

Pegasus returned his fleeting smile. "And I, too, have played with many cards in my day. Many," he repeated with a slight laugh. "I know my friends. We will start by Summoning our sure allies, and set up a perimeter defense. When Ra arrives, he will Summon all the rest – our remaining allies and enemies alike – and then… well, then we'll see."

"Perhaps we can confine the internal fighting to certain areas of the castle," Aura suggested. "Our allies can prevent our enemies from breaking down the defenses and letting Ra in."

"Mako and Aura, there is a map of the castle in the basement. Out the door, take a right, down the flight of stairs at the end of the hallway, storage room is at the end of the hallway to the left," Pegasus directed. It was time to begin preparations. "I'll do one last search for Yugi and the others. I'll check their bedchambers. I'll meet you back here."

They dashed their separate ways, Pegasus heading towards the bedchambers. He hadn't really done a thorough search of them yet, just peeked into Shadi and Ishizu's, at the front end of the hallway. Now he went down the hallway, throwing open doors and calling "Yoo-hoo!", but he just found empty rooms until he reached the end. He pushed open the door to Mokuba's room, and there was a dragon curled up on his bed.

xXx

Later, Seto Kaiba would decide that he entirely blamed Joey Wheeler.

"We're making great time," Joey said happily from astride Amazon Tiger. "I think we've got into a groove, guys! This whole sending Feather Duster ahead of us is working great. We're dodging all the unfriendly Traps and Magic Cards, and we're good at taking out Monsters who try and fight us."

Dark Magician Girl, who had personally blasted away almost half of their opponents, smiled sweetly as she flew by on her wand.

"You'll jinx us," Mai said lightly, meaning it as a joke, and that was when the ambush fell on them. Their loyal Monsters stopped the first wave, and Yami and Kaiba and Bakura, with their typically quick reflexes, immediately Summoned Monsters to join the fight. The others quickly followed suit, and they were soon embroiled in a full-out battle, but hopelessly outnumbered by the enemy Monsters.

"Ha! I guess we were even closer to Akuma than I thought!" Joey yelled over the din of the battle, even as Amazon Tiger snarled and dodged an attack from a vicious pair of Gemini Elves.

_Is he actually still trying to joke at a time like this?_ Seto wondered, though he was quite busy directing two of his Blue-Eyes in the fight. Despite Wheeler's laughing tone, however, he did have a point. They must be close to Akuma. Earlier, they had sent Dark Magician Girl scouting high overhead, and she reported that two huge armies were on the move: one, headed by Ra, marching toward Pegasus's castle; and another gathering around Akuma. Their group was extremely lucky, as a matter of fact, that Ra wasn't marching directly from Akuma, or he almost certainly would have encountered them. But this must be the other army.

Seto only vaguely noticed, in the back of his mind, that he and the others were working like a true team now. He sent his first Blue-Eyes to intercept an attack on Bakura from a Cyber Raider, and Yami took advantage of the distraction to order his Alpha and Gamma Warriors to wipe out the rest of the Monsters fighting the second Blue-Eyes. Anuba the jackal fought bravely too, snarling and taking down a second Cyber Raider that was trying to sneak up on Seto.

The battle was barely over, Ryou's Lady of Faith, Mai's Harpies, and Seto's Dragons quickly forming a ring around the party of seven and on the lookout for any more enemies, when Yami ushered their group away from the location of the fight.

"Now that we've been spotted, it is only a matter of time before all those Monsters gathering around the castle are on our trail," Yami said urgently. "We have to hustle."

Bakura choked back a small snort of laughter at the use of Yami's slang, but nodded in agreement. "Once we reach Akuma, we'll have to get on the other side of that shadow barrier pretty quickly," he remarked. "Did we ever discuss that plan?"

"I'll be able to open the portal with the Puzzle – I think," Yami added. "It'll take some time to figure it out exactly. I wish we still had the Rod."

"Doesn't opening up something sound like a job for a _Key_?" Joey asked pointedly.

Yami actually grinned. "If you can figure that out faster than I can get the Puzzle to work, by all means."

Joey frowned, suddenly upset. "What's the point in carrying the Items if I can't even use it?" he asked, somewhat rhetorically. Somewhat to his surprise, Mai answered softly.

"We can use the power to Summon our cards," she said quietly. "We were never meant to wield their other powers. I've been lucky enough to get one or two visions from the Necklace-" she shivered slightly, remembering- "but I will never be its mistress."

"Be glad of that," Bakura muttered darkly.

"We're wasting time!" Yami said suddenly. "We need to keep moving. We should get as close to the castle as we can before using Dragon Phantom Digger, so that we can be as accurate as possible… and be underground for as little time as possible." He addressed a final remark to Joey: "The advantage of the Rod is that it can also be used as a blunt weapon. Seto could use the sharp edge to cut right through the shadow barrier. No special skills needed."

"Good, because Kaiba doesn't have any," Joey cracked. Seto was riding Koumori Dragon close enough that he could reach out and smack Wheeler across the head. It made him smile for the first time in days.


	26. Chapter 26

Attaku

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Chapter 26

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"Did you find the others?" Mako asked as Pegasus swept into the room. Mako and Aura were bent over a map of the castle, discussing logistics.

"They've been swept away somewhere through time or space. Or possibly to an alternate reality."

"Oh," Aura said, barely batting an eyelash. "So the card stock room is towards the back of the castle. To make things simple, we should just leave all the cards in there. When Ra Summons them all, we can try to confine the fighting to that wing. That means we'll have to set up an especially strong line of defenses through the southern corridor though." She tapped the area on the map.

"Maybe we can knock out the floor and flood it for my Water Monsters," Mako said distractedly. "What, what was this about an alternate reality?"

Pegasus sighed and showed the two the Different Dimensions Dragon card. "I found this in Mokuba's room. The others must have used the dragon's special ability to travel somewhere – although, like I said, this dragon could have taken them anywhere through time or space… or dimensions." He frowned. "But if I know Mokuba and Yugi-boy, they'll have gone to Akuma, and I am most displeased that they didn't invite me."

Mako felt the beginnings of a headache and decided that Aura's way was best. "Oh," he said, and returned his attention to the map.

Cecelia floated up behind them. Pegasus turned to the spirit of his wife. "I _am_ a little worried about them," he admitted. "Would it be possible for you to track them down?"

"Most likely," she nodded. "I can check Akuma. Never fear; I'll be back in time to help you Summon your allies for the fight ahead." She floated out through the wall.

Pegasus's life had never quite been normal, but lately things were pushing it even so. Luckily, he knew just what would cheer him up.

"Keep the foyer empty while you're planning this," he advised Mako and Aura.

"Why, what's going in the foyer?" Aura asked, her forehead creased.

Pegasus smiled widely. "I thought that could be our Toon World."

xXx

Yami and the others had barely made it clear of the site of the first ambush when they heard the sounds of a battle in the distance. Everyone immediately pulled up, and a determined Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl positioned themselves in front of the group, but the roar of Monsters was coming from far away.

"Do you hear people screaming too?" Joey asked, his head cocked, listening intently. Seto refrained from making a dog joke, but he could practically see Wheeler's ears perking.

"Perhaps there is some local resistance," Yami suggested in a low voice. "This could be good for us. We may be able to sneak into Akuma while the battle is going."

"Local resistance would definitely be good," Ryou agreed hopefully.

Dark Magician held up a hand and the group stiffened. Anuba growled, her hackles raised. Dark Magician darted into the trees and disappeared. Dark Magician Girl made a huffy noise of irritation at being left behind, but otherwise curbed her impatience. Not knowing what to do, the group of 7 waited until Dark Magician suddenly reappeared, supporting an injured Zombie Master. The Zombie looked dazed, but when it caught sight of Yami, it tried to sink to the ground. "My Pharaoh," it gasped.

"No need for formalities," Yami said hastily, sliding off Silver Fang and helping the Dark Magician support the Zombie on the other side. "Perhaps you can fill us in? What is going on here? Who is fighting?"

"The resistance," Zombie Master said with some evident pride. "We are a group of humans and Monsters, united in our common desire for a free and prosperous world. And our loyalty to the Pharaoh," he added after a pause. Yami bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"Who is your leader?"

"Mystical Elf has assumed command of the army," Zombie Master explained. "I am one of our generals. I am directly overseeing the zombie and dinosaur types led by Goblin Zombie and the human Diana Hutchinson. Ever since Jinzo fell, I have also been attempting to direct the psychic types, with the help of the human Espa Roba."

Joey's head jerked up. "Espa Roba?" he exclaimed.

"I know him," Seto chimed in, surprised.

"Good for Espa," Yami murmured. "It's good to know that we have other allies. What other news can you bring us?"

Zombie Master, though clearly injured, stood up straight at the request from his Pharaoh and commander. He delivered a succinct summary of the rebel army's formation and fights. "We fought bravely in the forest, but we were outmatched. We likely would have suffered a complete defeat, but Ra received news that cut our battle short. Our spies tell us that Ra was informed of another, larger resistance. He moved south to deal with the threat, and our army moved here, to siege his palace."

"South," Bakura said softly. The group of 7 looked at each other in alarm, remembering exactly what lay to the south.

"You don't think-" Joey began, then broke off.

"Would the others have formed a resistance?" Mai asked worriedly. "They're not strong enough!"

"There were a lot of cards in Mister Pegasus's castle," Kimo said soberly. They all sucked in a deep breath as they remembered exactly how many cards were in that storeroom.

"They better not have gotten involved in this," Seto said darkly. His baby brother was back there, and if any harm came to Mokuba, Ra wouldn't be the only threat the others had to worry about.

"They might have thought they were helping us," Bakura said, shaking his head. "And I'll admit, it's something I would have advocated, had I thought of it earlier. A diversion! Exactly what we need. We couldn't otherwise have been so lucky as to approach Akuma when Ra was nowhere near it."

"We can do nothing about them for the moment," Yami said, ending the discussion before Seto could give a furious retort. It pained him to do so – Yugi was there, along most of the people that mattered to him in the world! But it was his duty, no matter how hard, to lead the group and to keep them on track. He pushed aside his emotions for now; he could worry for the safety of his friends later. "Zombie Master, I thank you and Mystical Elf for what you have done for the resistance. We have a plan to defeat Ra forever, but we must get inside Akuma. Will your army keep fighting? We need Ra's servants distracted while we slip through the shadow-barrier."

"Of course, my Pharaoh," Zombie Master replied, bowing. "I will hurry back to my commander and ensure that the battle continues. We will fight for as long as we are able. Should you have need of us, you have but to call, and all survivors will rush to your side."

Yami touched his hand to his heart and inclined his head. Zombie Master nodded to the rest of the group, and to the Dark Magician, and disappeared back into the trees.

"The others-" Seto began.

"We'll have to trust that they can fend for themselves for the time," Yami interrupted, but not harshly. When Seto looked unconvinced, he added, "The best thing we can do for them is to get to Akuma. When Ra discovers that we have penetrated his stronghold – and he will discover it immediately, make no mistake – he will certainly return here and leave whoever is causing him trouble in the south alone."

"Right," Seto said, immediately seeing the truth behind this. "Let's go, then."

"Kimo," Yami called, as the group took off at a run. "Keep Dragon Phantom Digger ready. We'll go underground soon."

xXx

It was time. Ra surveyed the castle coldly from across the river. His army was nearly finished erecting many bridges to reach the island and the castle from all sides, and the Flying types were wheeling excitedly overhead. He knew that the humans and traitorous Monsters inside had certainly had time to prepare for his coming, but it made no difference. He would blow through their pathetic defenses, then he would return to Akuma to wipe out the last of the rebels. After that, he would be all-powerful, and no one, not even the Pharaoh, would be able to stop him.

"Don't bother with survivors," he informed his army coldly. "I have no interest in humans, nor in any Monster who has chosen to turn its back on its kind." His army hissed in approval.

Without warning, Ra spread his wings, flapped them once, and sailed over to the island. He opened his mouth wide and shot a white-hot blast in through the castle's front doors. The front wall exploded, but unexpectedly, whatever was inside bounced his blast back, and it dissipated into the clear blue sky. When the smoke cleared, Ra could see a second, smaller castle just inside the foyer, but something was off about it. He didn't have much time to think about it, though. Something moved inside, and he immediately lashed out with one huge claw. Much to his shock, however, whatever was in there twisted its body so it fit right between two of his sharp nails and avoided injury.

Confused and enraged, Ra pulled his claw back. Before his army rushed in, he caught a glimpse of a cartoon Summoned Skull, batting long eyelashes and blowing him a kiss.

xXx

Mokuba had entertained visions of striding out into the middle of a grassy field, seeing something gold glint in the sun, and walking over to pick up the Millennium Rod; but things didn't quite work out that way.

"This place is a mess," Tristan had remarked, shocked, when the friends first emerged from their hiding place to view the grounds of Akuma in broad daylight.

"Yeah, what, did a giant angry god stomp around here or something?" Duke muttered.

Half of the main castle and all the surrounding buildings had been knocked down. There was rubble everywhere, and giant claw marks had torn deep furrows into the ground and tossed earth around. The whole place was made the more unnerving by the semi-translucent barrier of Shadow Magic.

"Well, so much for hiding," Marik commented cheerfully as a Guard Dog caught sight of them from the other side of the barrier. It immediately bared its teeth, then growled, then howled for others to come. A small crowd quickly gathered, staring in with mean eyes and making threatening hand gestures.

"Ignore them," Ishizu said calmly as she began to pick through the rubble. Shadi silently joined her.

"Ignore them?" Mokuba whispered, looking over at Serenity, who looked just as pale and shaken up by the Monsters as he did. "Easier said than done."

"Let's just work on finding the Millennium Rod," Yugi said, also looking a little nervous.

"Easier said than done," Malik mumbled.

"Not you," Geoff said sternly. "You shouldn't be looking for the Millennium Rod anymore."

"Aw, you never let me have any fun," Malik pouted. Marik made his most innocent expression, convincing nobody.

"Geoff is right. If either of you finds the Millennium Rod, please don't touch it," Ishizu said with an exasperated sigh. "Come to think, maybe you can just come over here and help me move stuff."

"Why can't Odion do it?" Marik asked immediately. Odion arched a black eyebrow and didn't move.

"What's the point in having a ridiculously built older brother if he won't even lift rocks for me?" Malik complained, helping Marik shift aside a large stone nonetheless.

And that was what Mokuba had to listen to for _two whole days_ while they searched. When the light faded the first day, they ate and slept, and resumed their search the next morning. By that time, a camaraderie had sprung up among the group, and everyone else started joining in the Ishtar family squabbles.

"How come you haven't been dating?" Malik demanded of his older sister. "It's healthy for a woman of your age to date."

"I haven't been dating because you numbskulls decided to take over the world and drive me into hiding, remember?" Ishizu snapped, losing her famed cool on this touchy subject. It was a mistake, because Malik and Marik's smiles grew wider and they pounced, knowing that they'd touched a sensitive spot.

"My social life was put on hold in favor of rescuing you two from the corrupting influence of _each other_ and a _God_," Ishizu continued, building up steam. "Why couldn't it just have been drugs like normal teenage boys?"

"Normal teenage boys don't do any of those things," Duke piped up.

"I don't know if you should be talking, Devlin," Tristan sniggered. "Remember the whole revenge thing? That was your shtick for a while."

"That was a long time ago and it was driven solely out of concern for Mr. Pegaus, my heart was pure," Duke snapped at the same time Marik proclaimed, "Yeah, it must have been pretty lonely in hiding, Ishizu. We're sorry. Where did you say you were in hiding again?"

Ishizu opened her mouth, then slammed it shut and flushed. Malik piped up, "A cave, wasn't it?"

"Mmm." Marik nodded. "A small, dark, lonely, underground cave. With no one there to hold you at night."

"Oh, wait," Malik said innocently. "Shadi was there too, wasn't he? Shadi, were you in the small dark cave with Ishizu?"

"Did you hold her at night?" Marik managed to choke out before he collapsed with laughter. Ishizu dropped a brick on his hand emotionlessly.

Téa exchanged glances with Odion, who was trying very hard to keep from smiling. When Téa caught his eye, a little smirk escaped him, then he smoothed his face out again. Shadi, the other master of a blank face, had his lips set tightly, but there was murder in his eyes.

"It's not like everyone's social life was cramped by Marik and Bakura destroying the world," Malik said hastily, apparently deciding it was safer to change the topic. Marik was nursing his hand and pouting indignantly. "I mean, Yugi and Serenity are doing just fine, right?"

"What?" Serenity squeaked. She and Yugi were bent over a pile of earth that Ra had kicked up, sifting through the dirt together. She pulled her hands away from Yugi embarrassedly and nearly fell over.

Yugi was also bright red, but he glared at Malik and grabbed Serenity's hand determinedly, helping her keep her balance. "Um, thanks," she mumbled.

Well, Mokuba thought, one thing could be said for Marik and Malik: they were entertaining, and they made time pass quickly. _Too quickly_, he realized in frustration. The sun had already risen high into the sky. Pretty soon it would be dark again, and another day would have passed without finding the Millennium Rod. He sighed, tuning the others out now, and looked around. Ra's minions were still looking in at them from the northern side, still jeering. They probably didn't realize what the humans were searching for, but they still gave Mokuba the creeps. He moved away from them, closer to the wreckage of the castle. He skirted around it, searching halfheartedly through the rubble as he went, but they had mostly gone through this area already. The voices of the others, still chatting away, floated out to him.

With a sigh, Mokuba clambered on top of a rock. He needed some time to think. He cupped his chin in his hands, surveyed the landscape – and blinked. Several feet away, a lizard blinked back at him.

"Bob?" he asked incredulously. "HEY, ISHIZU! IT'S BOB!"

The sound of her yelling at her brothers came to an abrupt halt, and a few moments later the woman herself came rushing into view. Mokuba pointed, and with a little shriek of delight, Ishizu scooped up her beloved lizard.

"Bob! It _is_ Bob!"

"Bob?" Marik questioned, coming into view. "Oh, right, the lizard." A sly grin crept onto his face. "The lizard from when she was living in the cave with Shadi."

Ishizu managed to ignore him, carrying Bob over to the rest of the group. The others, glad for a distraction, gathered around to see the famed lizard. "I heard you hitchhiked pretty far with Joey," Serenity said with a smile, running a finger down Bob's scaly back.

Mokuba turned back to the landscape. Bob had been crawling in a pretty straight line. Curious as to where the lizard had been hiding, Mokuba stood up and followed the path Bob seemed to have been taking. He walked almost to the edge of the Shadow barrier and looked over, and there, lying in a small bare patch of grass, was the Millennium Rod.

In a slight state of shock, Mokuba bent down to pick it up. As he straightened, he heard his older brother's voice questioning with blank shock, "Mokuba?"


	27. Chapter 27

Attaku

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Note: Only one more chapter plus an epilogue!

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Chapter 27

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"Mokuba?" Seto repeated, staring at his younger brother across the barrier of Shadow Magic. He was stunned… for the second time, he had entered Akuma, the very heart of danger, to find the little brother he had supposed to be safe at home already there. Mokuba looked startled, then confused, then mildly guilty.

"Hey, Mokuba, you want some dinner?" Ezra called, galloping over from behind the castle. "We're all getting pretty – hey, you found it!" she exclaimed, spotting the Millennium Rod still clenched in his hands. Mokuba and Seto both automatically looked down at the Rod. Behind Seto, Yami sucked in his breath sharply.

"Oh," Ezra said, catching sight of the group. "Um. Well." She swallowed. "We're not here on purpose."

"No, I swear, it's an accident," Mokuba added.

Seto swelled with rage and concern, but seemed momentarily speechless. Bakura climbed out of a hole in the ground and, catching sight of Mokuba, demanded, "How did_ you_ get here?!"

"Who are you guys talking to?" Yugi asked, wandering into view with Serenity right behind him. Yami and Joey gave sharp exclamations in unison.

"Yugi?!"

"Serenity?!"

"Oh! You – you made it," Yugi said, taken aback, staring at Yami through the barrier. "Can I just say I'm really, really glad that nothing bad happened to you?"

"_Yugi_?" Joey asked, climbing out of the hole in the ground too. "_Serenity?_" He gaped for a moment, too distressed to speak, then finally managed to choke out, "you are grounded for life, young lady!"

"_Anuba!_" Ezra gasped as her jackal, long since missing, bounded out of the hole. Anuba gave a short, joyful bark, and bounded back and forth in front of the shadow-barrier, clearly impatient to get to the other side and be reunited with her mistress.

Mai and Ryou clambered out of the hole, followed lastly by Kimo, who was tucking Dragon Phantom Digger safely away. The Dragon, after clawing unrelentingly through rock and soil, had returned to its card after scraping a passage back to the surface. Aboveground, the enormous Machine Monster would have been slightly more conspicuous than they liked.

"Perhaps someone should explain what happened," Bakura growled dangerously. "This may involve some adjustments in our plan."

"There was an accident with Different Dimension Dragon," Yugi said quickly.

"_Different Dimension Dragon!_" Seto exclaimed, his hand flying to his deck, suddenly remembering its mysterious disappearance toward the beginning of their journey.

"And it brought you here?" Yami questioned sharply.

Yugi hesitated, and exchanged oddly shifty glances with Serenity and Ezra. Mokuba finally said "Eventually," in an innocent voice that fooled no one.

Seto would have pressed the issue, but he was highly aware of their time constraints. At any moment, Ra's servants could discover them, vulnerable, outside the shadow-barrier. They couldn't depend on Zombie Master's rebellion to hold the enemy off forever. He abbreviated all his questions and clipped shortly, "And why didn't you ask the Dragon to take you back to Pegasus's castle?"

"I left the card there," Mokuba said quickly, obviously relieved that Seto had asked a question to which he had a reasonable, if unfortunate, answer.

Yami actually laughed. When the others looked at him oddly, he explained, "If only we'd thought of that at the beginning… we could have spared ourselves this whole journey and just taken Different Dimension Dragon straight inside the shadow-barrier!"

"Yeah, that's real funny," Joey muttered, remembering their close brushes with death.

"We didn't know that Different Dimension Dragon _wouldn't_ set off Ra's traps," Bakura disagreed. "It would have been too much of a risk. In fact, I'm surprised the others made it here alive." His opinion deeply unsettled Ezra, who shivered and squirmed, realizing for the first time their narrow escape. She silently blessed the strange properties of the magical Dragon.

"All right," Yami said, returning abruptly to business. "We need to get inside that shadow-barrier with you. Mokuba, can you throw the Millennium Rod across?"

Mokuba hesitated. "_Can_ I?" he asked doubtfully. "Will it go through?"

"It should," Yami said confidently, drawing on some hidden reservoir of knowledge that murmured the truth to him. "And once Kaiba has the Rod, he can simply slice our way through."

Mokuba and Seto raised their eyebrows at each other. "All right then," Mokuba said, clearly not convinced. He cocked his arm and heaved the Rod like a spear. His companions watched with bated breath, half-expecting it to disappear into the blackness of the shadow-barrier. But the Rod passed cleanly through, and Seto caught it deftly. His fingers curled instinctively around it, and the Rod felt warm and comfortable and just right in his hand. For a brief moment, Seto _saw _it: saw Ancient Egypt in all its splendor, saw Yami as the Pharaoh, saw his own part in the tragic events of so many years ago. For the first time, he _believed_, was united completely with Yami, the Pharaoh – _his_ Pharaoh, like it or not – and trusted in the heart of the Cards.

The vision froze him in shock, and he stood immobile until Joey drawled behind him, "Any day now, Moneybags." There was a sudden, vicious barking from somewhere close by, and Mokuba thought fearfully of the Guard Dog that had been watching them earlier. Then with a swift movement of his wrist, Seto brought the sharp edge of the Millennium Rod slicing through the middle of the shadow-barrier.

Where the Rod cut, it also exposed the invisible part of the barrier, and a flap suddenly appeared amidst swirls of darkness, high enough to accommodate a man. The party of seven hastily piled in; Yami turned around and gestured with his hand, and the shadow-barrier healed itself. A moment later, Guard Dog appeared, sniffed the hole that Dragon Phantom Digger had made, then turned to look at the small group gathered inside the shadow-barrier. It growled, hackles raised, then unleashed a loud volley of barks that made Mokuba clap his hands to his ears.

"We're not a moment too soon," Kimo commented grimly.

Mai and Joey hurried over and embraced Serenity. Yami and Yugi clasped hands and exchanged long looks, Yugi's slightly sheepish. Anuba rushed Ezra and jumped all over her mistress, pawing at her excitedly; Ezra fell to her knees and flung her arms around her beloved jackal. Seto moved over to Mokuba and hugged his little brother, but appeared otherwise unable to speak.

"Who else is here?" Mai asked, looking around.

"Pretty much everyone except for Pegasus," Serenity replied.

"Oh! And Téa and Odion!" Yugi said excitedly.

"Téa?!" Joey exclaimed. "Téa?! She's alive? She's _here_?! I can hardly believe it! Where?"

Yami had intended to begin preparing for the imminent confrontation with Ra as soon as they reached Akuma, but found himself swept up in the excitement of seeing his friends, especially Téa, who he hadn't seen since before the original takeover. The group rushed around the corner, and there was an excited clash and babbling voices and hugs. Joey nearly tackled Téa to the ground, and the both of them, and Mai, burst into tears. Yami got choked up himself as he hugged his friend, who he had feared was dead. Ryou greeted Odion, who had always treated him kindly during his imprisonment; Bakura greeted him slightly more sheepishly.

It was, to everyone's surprise, Joey who called the group back to business. "Hey, let's save the world now," he announced loudly.

When he received various stares of amusement and skepticism, he grinned. "We're all together now," he said, wrapping one arm around Téa and the other around Yugi, and giving meaningful stares to all his other friends. "We can do _anything_."

xXx

Guard Dog bounded through the woods, heading back towards the battle, frantically looking for its allies. It came upon a Winged Messenger, darting from one skirmish with the rebels to another, carrying news about the movements of the rebel armies. After hurried conversation, Winged Messenger took to the skies, flying faster than it ever had in its life. It had news to deliver to Ra, its master – big, bad news.

xXx

"This should do nicely," Yami finally decided, stopping.

Seto glanced down at the object near Yami's feet. "That used to be part of the wall."

"It's very sturdy," Yami defended.

"It should do nicely for _what_?" Yugi asked curiously.

"For imprisoning Ra," Yami explained, prodding the boulder with his foot. "Yes, it'll work."

"You're going to imprison Ra inside a rock?" Malik asked flatly. "A rock that used to be part of a wall?"

"Well," Yami shrugged, "we don't have time to carve out a fancy tablet for him, do we?"

"No, we don't," Bakura agreed so solemnly that it was impossible to tell if he was mocking the Pharaoh.

"I know the incantation to imprison him inside stone," Yami said calmly. "But we'll need to subdue him first."

"Oh, that'll be easy," Malik said immediately, and it was clear that _he_ was mocking the Pharaoh.

"How do you plan to do that?" Téa asked doubtfully. "I've seen him, and he's not exactly someone you can take down easily. And in his natural form, he's _huge_."

Yami met her eyes. He slowly reached into his shirt, into a pocket sewn onto the inner lining, and unfastened a button. He withdrew two cards and showed them to the group at large.

"Oh my _god_," gasped Téa.

"_Gods_," Odion corrected wryly.

xXx

Across the lawn, Mai was speaking with Shadi and Ishizu. She filled them in on what they'd learned from Zombie Master in the woods.

"So we thought that the other rebellion the Zombie spoke of was you all, down at Pegasus's castle," Mai explained. "Obviously, most of you are here, but the cards are still down there, right?"

"And Pegasus remained behind," Shadi replied.

"I wonder what he thought, when he awoke in the morning to find us all missing," Ishizu sighed. It was obvious she was distracted, though, because her eyes kept lingering on the Necklace hanging around Mai's neck.

The other girl didn't miss the stare. "I told you this," she blurted, "because I wondered if maybe you wanted to use the Necklace to see if it's true? If there is a battle at the castle? I don't know how to use the Millennium Necklace," Mai admitted, not sounding very upset about it. "I received a vision from it once… and to be frank, that once was enough. Its abilities scare me; I wasn't meant to see the future. I used its power to Summon my Monsters, and that's enough for me."

Ishizu bit her lip. "You'll need to keep the Necklace for the battle ahead," she said, reaching out anyway. "But perhaps I could just…"

Mai was about to offer to take the Necklace off so Ishizu could wear it, but the black-haired woman reached out with one slim finger and lightly touched the eye in the center of the Necklace. She gasped, and went rigid; just as Mai was about to panic, Ishizu withdrew her hand with a sigh.

"What did you see?" Shadi questioned her quietly.

Ishizu rubbed her eyes. "Many things. I saw many possible endings to our final stand – some good, some bad. It remains to be seen which path our fortunes shall take. I saw a great battle, with a white-haired man in the center of it." She looked up. "Pegasus is, after all, putting up a fight. And he is not alone."

"We sent Mako Tsunami and his friend Aura to Pegasus's castle," Mai remembered. "Did you see them in your vision? A black-haired man and a girl with light brown hair?"

Ishizu nodded. "They live. Pegasus sent most of his servants away before the battle began, save for the loyal Croquet. The humans are hidden in…" she wrinkled her brow. "In what appears to be a large cartoon universe."

Mai couldn't help but laugh, remembering Joey's story of Toon World. "Maybe they'll actually be safe in there," she said hopefully. "Toon World was pretty impenetrable."

"Hey!" Joey called to them, bounding up. "I was just talking to Yami and he reminded me of our plan for beating Ra. Are you ready for this news?"

Mai laughed again. "And are you ready for ours?"

xXx

Ra was immensely frustrated. His army had managed to destroy the majority of the rebel's castle and take down most of the opposing Duel Monsters. Yet two pouches of resistance remained. Where the storage room used to be, where all the Cards had been piled, was still in tumult. Ra had Summoned all of the Cards at once, causing half the building to explode as Monsters came spilling out, Trap Cards were inadvertently activated everywhere, and Magic Cards collided with each other. The fighting had begun instantaneously and in mass confusion as Monsters tried to figure out which side they were on, and who their allies were. Now the two sides had separated a little bit, but Ra was reluctant to send his own troops into that wreck; he decided to let them continue fighting it out. He concentrated his army instead on the obscene cartoon world that had expanded from the size of the lobby, as it had been when he first arrived, to nearly the size of the original castle.

His army would break it down eventually – of that he was convinced – but he was growing impatient. The trouble was _catching _the cartoon Monsters in the first place; they were slippery and could bend and twist into any shape necessary to escape. Brute force did no good, for the cartoons were capable of easily redirecting the attack. However, his army had eventually figured out the secret to victory, oh yes; Ra smiled cruelly at the memory of finally pinning down that dratted Toon Summoned Skull. His Monsters had torn it to pieces.

_And we will treat all those cartoons the same way, in time,_ he told himself. _And we have plenty of time_.

But immediately following that reassuring thought came a sudden wave of power that he felt deep in his being. It seared through his defenses, then passed in a moment; but that was long enough to catch Ra's full attention. He knew what it was: someone had disrupted the wall of Shadow Magic he had erected around Akuma! He let out a roar of anger, frightening the rebels and his own army alike. _The Pharaoh!_ He had assumed the Pharaoh was in hiding, or perhaps even here, at Pegasus's castle, and trapped in the fighting. He had, perhaps, underestimated the audacity of the Pharaoh. The Millennium Item bearers were suddenly, frighteningly, within Akuma; they had passed through his defenses, into his sacred palace, and they were waiting for him there.

_So be it!_ he thought with swift anger. _If they wish for this final confrontation, I will grant their wish, and they shall learn to regret trifling with ME!_

Perhaps this was for the best. He could be done with the Pharaoh, the Millennium Items, and all opposition to his rule forever.

He left his army behind, to finish the massacre at Pegasus's castle, and took off with full speed for Akuma. More of his loyal Monsters still waited around his city; he would remove the shadow-barrier and let his other army into the city, and he himself would light upon the Pharaoh with a fury the world had not felt in thousands of years.


	28. Chapter 28

Attaku

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Note: This is the FINAL CHAPTER, to be followed only by an epilogue! I hope you enjoy the (almost) end to this saga!

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Chapter 28

xXx

"I think he's… _gone_," Pegasus said, frowning slightly.

Aura was huddled in a corner of their safe room. "There's still fighting going on outside," she pointed out.

"He's left his army behind," Pegasus said, daring to peek out of their shelter. "But Ra has flown away."

"What does that mean?" Croquet wondered aloud.

"I wonder if he's discovered where our friends are," Mako fretted.

"He has," Cecelia said, closing her eyes. "One of your friends must have used a Millennium Item to cut through Ra's barrier of Shadow Magic around Akuma. Ra is flying there right now to-"

"Oof!" Aura gasped as an attack hit their shelter. The walls suddenly pressed tightly around them, as the outside of their shelter was crushed under a blow. Aura was momentarily squeezed next to the strangest inhabitant of the room, and felt her cool, jelly-like skin squishing up against her arm. Then their shelter bounced back into its original shape, and everyone fell back on the floor again.

Aura looked up and exchanged sheepish glances with the girl she had been pushed up against.

"I think that deserves some return fire," Pegasus said, clearly annoyed.

Toon Mermaid nodded. The giant clam that they were all hiding in opened slightly; Toon Mermaid poked her head and upper body out, fired three arrows in rapid succession, and ducked back inside. The clam slammed shut again, protecting Toon Mermaid and the humans hiding in it: Mako, Aura, Pegasus, and Croquet.

"How much longer will we be protected in here?" Mako wondered aloud, shaken from that last assault.

"For as long as the battle continues, I dare say," Pegasus replied lightly. "How long that may be… I don't know. Now that Ra is gone, our troops may have a fighting chance."

"Can you have another look at the second battle?" Aura begged Cecelia. "Where the storeroom used to be? I know it's a mess…" her voice trailed off as Cecelia obligingly floated out into the chaotic fight.

"If Ra is headed to Akuma, perhaps we ought to use Different Dimension Dragon to take the battle _there_," Mako suggested eagerly.

They had sent Different Dimension Dragon away before the battle began, fearing that if Ra came and Summoned it with no direction, the Dragon would cause all sorts of havoc. They also didn't want Ra to know that Different Dimension Dragon was there; who knew what the god could do with power like the Dragon's. While the Dragon wasn't necessarily on Ra's side, the others weren't sure he was on _their_ side either. The Dragon had so far seemed to do what it pleased. Cecelia thought, however, that the Dragon could be prevailed upon to answer specific transportation desires as well. With her help, they had Summoned the Dragon and sent it into another dimension. Pegasus planned to use the Dragon as an emergency escape route, should the battle go poorly.

Pegasus pursed his lips. "You have a point," he admitted. "However, I think we should wait. If our troops are going to be outmatched by Ra's, we don't want to bring the rest of Ra's army straight to Akuma, where they will help him fight Yami and the others. If, however, the battle goes our way… I'm sure that Yami could use our reinforcements."

"I really hope the battle goes our way," Aura said needlessly, as they hunkered deep into the clamshell to await the news from Cecelia.

xXx

In mid-flight, flapping his way swiftly to Akuma, Ra passed an exhausted Winged Messenger. The Messenger tried to approach Ra, to deliver the news of the Pharaoh's breach into Akuma; Ra, who had already divined the information by his own means and who was in a furious rage, opened his mouth and sent a jet of fire streaming over the hapless Monster, his own faithful servant.

There would be no mercy.

xXx

"Mokuba, you'll stay _in_ that castle for the entire duration of the battle, do you hear me?" Seto demanded. For once, Mokuba didn't put up a fight, merely nodded meekly. He was intimidated already by the sounds of the rebel skirmishes in the woods; the news of the Pharaoh's arrival in Akuma had spread, and Mystical Elf had moved the rebel army to right outside the main gates, preparing for the moment when the shadow-barrier came crashing down. Ra's Monsters still dramatically outnumbered the rebels, however, and the fighting was fierce.

"I'm leaving Hyozanru with you," Seto said, lowering his voice. "If things look bad, I want to you get out of here, okay? Ride Hyozanru as fast and as far as you can, and don't look back."

"But-"

"Kaiba, you can't leave him in the castle," Téa interrupted worriedly. "I don't know if Slifer and Obelisk are as big as Ra, but even if they're not, Ra alone is huge enough to stomp the rest of the building into rubble. It's unstable enough as it is; the whole thing could come crashing down."

Seto paused, remembering exactly how large the God Cards were. "You have a point," he admitted, his voice filled with urgency. "We need to find a safe place for everyone who isn't fighting."

"What about underground again?" Mai suggested, joining the discussion.

"Same problem as the castle," Bakura rejected. "If the gods stomp hard enough, anything underground will get caved in or crushed."

"The air?" Serenity suggested tentatively.

"I think anything flying overhead might just be a giant bulls-eye target for Ra," Odion said apologetically.

"Maybe a Magic or Trap Card then?" Mai suggested. "I know we rejected the idea of using them to get into Akuma, but now that we're on this side, maybe it would be safe to Summon one?"

"I'll try it on myself first," Seto said decisively. As expected, he met with arguments, but received unexpected support from Yami. Together, the two of them tried using Sword and Shield to switch places, as well as set off a variety of Trap Cards. "Everything seems to be working," Seto said at last, then turned to Mokuba with a determined glint in his eye. "Now, as for protection for you…"

xXx

Thirty minutes later, Mokuba and Serenity were in a shallow ditch behind the castle (but not too close to the wall), with a Millennium Shield covering their heads. Much to their surprise, Marik had graciously given them a Revival Jam as protection; it squished around happily above them, wearing a Ring of Magnetism, so as to attract the brunt of the attacks. There was a Trap Jammer, Magic Jammer, Mirror Force, and assortment of other Trap and Magic Cards waiting to be sprung around their hiding spot. Seto had stopped just short of giving them all three Blue-Eyes for protection, when Yami pointed out reasonably that the dragons would make it quite crowded in the hole.

Serenity sat gingerly on the ground, afraid of accidentally setting off one of the traps. It was still noisy outside, as the battle outside the shadow-barrier raged on and their friends ran around preparing. Everyone else had decided to stay out and face Ra head-on, even if they didn't have a deck; but Serenity and Mokuba, frightened beyond anything they'd felt before, didn't put up too much of a fuss about being sent off to relative safety.

"I'm scared, but I'm glad we're here," Serenity said quietly. "I would hate to be somewhere far away and not know what was going on."

Mokuba nodded in assent. "At least here we can-" he broke off as Téa's voice rose above the babble.

"_He's coming! That's Ra you see on the horizon!_" There was only a half-a-second pause, in which Téa sucked in a horrified breath, then she continued: _"Look how fast he's coming! Hurry, Yami, we don't have time – Summon Slifer and Obelisk!_"

"_Do it now!"_ Bakura yelled.

Mokuba and Serenity reflexively grabbed onto each other and stared, wide-eyed, at the crack of light between Millennium Shield and the dirt wall of their shelter. Suddenly, the light was blotted out by a huge shadow. The ground shook violently beneath them as something enormous dropped onto the earth, and the wind whistled fiercely, sending boulders tumbling like cotton balls as something huge flew through the sky.

Obelisk the Tormentor and Slifer the Sky Dragon had arrived.

xXx

Ra saw the appearance of his two once-comrades, and it was nearly enough to make him falter. He and Obelisk and Slifer had once ruled together, the three of them enormously powerful together, powerful enough to even work their influence over the mortals holding their Cards. But now Slifer and Obelisk were under the control of the Pharaoh, and they would fight him.

_I have always been the mightiest of us all_, he decided, pushing firmly on. The miles flew beneath him; he would arrive at Akuma soon. He sent his Magic ahead and removed the shadow-barrier surrounding his city; immediately, Monsters began to swarm in. _I will defeat those two in battle and prove my strength, once and for all. Then I shall rule this realm – ALONE!_

xXx

Slifer and Obelisk easily took down the first wave of Ra's invaders. In fact, the only danger was that they would also be taking out Yami's allies as they knocked aside twenty Monsters with one lazy flick of hand or tail. Yami and his friends were chiefly concerned with not getting crushed underfoot, at first.

"Hail!" Mystical Elf cried, leading her troops to join up with the array of Monsters that Yami and his friends had Summoned.

"Hail!" Yami responded, pleased, and clasped her hand. "I owe you great thanks for taking up our cause. You have fought most worthily."

"And we will continue fighting until the end," she responded, eyes blazing. Her words were brave, but her army had been reduced to practically nothing; Ra's allies, even now streaming in from all the surrounding lands, vastly outnumbered all of the defenders, even with Yami and the others' decks.

And then Ra himself arrived, tearing into Slifer in the air, both of the Gods screeching their challenges. One of Slifer's two huge mouths clamped down on Ra's wing; Ra responded with deep, vicious slashes to Slifer's flank. Obelisk swatted away a few more of Ra's minions, then reached a massive hand into the air and swiped at Ra's feet.

Yami whirled around and ordered his Magicians into action. Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician immediately flew to cover the rear of the army. Seto Fused his Blue-Eyes White Dragons into Three-Headed White Dragon, which began savagely plowing through the opposing army, followed closely by Joey and Ryou's Monsters. Mai's Harpy Ladies led the Dragon into a group of Land Monsters, over which they had the advantage. She was backed up by Kimo. Duke and Tristan immediately assimilated with Mystical Elf's army and took over the remaining Machine Monsters, issuing orders and deciding where the Monsters' abilities could best be put to use. Yugi, Ishizu, and Shadi joined forces with a group of spellcasters to manipulate the Magic and Trap Cards. Marik and Bakura and Malik, who knew the God Cards best, ordered various Monsters to assist Slifer and Obelisk. Odion, Geoff, Ezra and Téa assisted with the defense of the group, protecting the fragile humans; Anuba viciously guarded her mistress.

The field quickly became covered in black smoke as two opposing groups of Fire Monsters met and set half of the ground aflame. Obelisk slammed through the remains of the castle, sending rubble flying everywhere. Odion tackled Ishizu and Shadi, pinning them both to the ground in safety seconds before a rock would have taken off their heads.

"There's a Canon Soldier taking aim at Mystical Elf!" Téa shouted. "We need a Trap Card like Mirror Force!" Ezra dashed into the fray, grabbing Yugi's arm and enlisting him and Magician of Faith in protecting the elven general. Moments later, when Canon Soldier fired, the rounds ricocheted off a Mirror Force.

Several of Ra's troops stormed their way to the center of the rebel army, beating their way through by sheer force. A Hane-Hane swung at Duke with the blunt end of his staff, sending him toppling backwards. Tristan shouted and went after him, at the same time that Ra and Slifer shot crackling balls of pure Shadow Magic at each other. The balls collided and exploded, sending streams of Shadow Magic everywhere. One of these hit Duke, and he was promptly banished to the Shadow Realm. Another hit Three-Headed White Dragon, which disappeared amidst a howl of rage from Seto.

Ra recovered from the explosion first and took the opportunity to sink his teeth into Slifer. The Sky Dragon shrieked with pain and toppled from the air, landing heavily on the ground, where swarms of Ra's minions covered it. A contingent of Needle Worms crawled onto Slifer's belly and began stabbing it. Ryou directed what remained of his Deck to hurry to Slifer's assistance, led by his Greenkappa. Espa Roba tried to lead the psychic Monsters over to aid Slifer as well, but became caught up in a skirmish with Ra's Machine Monsters. Tristan led the rebel Machine Monsters over to aid Espa.

But for the time, only Obelisk stood to fight Ra, and the Winged Dragon had the high ground, and his assaults from the air were not easily defended against. A particularly vicious assault sent Obelisk stumbling backwards, nearly stepping on half the army. Seto, Mai, and Yami hastily sent their Flying Monsters into the air, aided by the rebel Flying Monsters, but Ra swatted the small attackers away like flies. He swung his tail and knocked Dark Magician Girl off her wand. The Harpy Lady Sisters streaked after her, and caught the small spellcaster right before she hit the ground. Yami hurried to kneel by her side, making sure Dark Magician Girl was okay.

Ra swooped down on Obelisk and dug into the Tormenter's shoulder with sharp claws, making the giant blue god double over in pain and grab at his wound. Ra landed on the battlefield, carelessly crushing his own warriors and his enemies alike. Yami looked up to see an angry, triumphant golden eye staring down at him, and Ra opened his mouth to unleash a devastating assault upon the Pharaoh.

But even as Ra drew in a breath, a swirling hole appeared in the air between Yami and the god. A glittering green dragon shot out of nowhere, swooped over the battlefield, and disappeared again; in the next second, a castle appeared in midair and dropped down to the ground with a _thud_. The whole castle jiggled alarmingly, bending out of shape, and then resolving again; when Ra, in surprise, released his assault, it bounced off of one of the castle's turrets and went ricocheting harmlessly into space.

"You're kidding me," Seto sighed, coming up behind Yami and forgetting the battle for a moment.

"Yoo-hoo!" Pegasus called, waving from a balcony. "We thought you might have need of us!"

Yami grinned fiercely. "We've never needed you more, my friend!" he called.

Mako Tsunami, in a blur of bulging muscles and dark hair, leapt over the edge of the balcony and landed astride Fenrir, a giant Water-type wolf. Both of them looked positively thrilled to be escaping Toon World, despite the danger of the battle they were dashing into.

"Mako _insists_ on joining the fight," Pegasus called, counting on Toon Gemini Elf to protect him from the attacks being launched at the Toon World castle, "And I'll help out how I can from up here. But if any of you are in need of a safe place to stay, I've left Croquet and Mako's friend Aura inside Toon Mermaid's clamshell. It's nearly impenetrable!"

A very familiar looking Monster flew out of the castle and tackled the Mystic Horseman about to lower his axe onto Seto, who was gaping at the castle. Seto quickly shook himself out of distraction, caught sight of the Monster, and stared again. Finally he jerked back into action. "Toon Blue-Eyes!" Seto shouted, winced, then overcame his instinctive distaste. "I need you to go find my little brother – he should be hiding with a girl named Serenity Wheeler – and bring him to safety inside the clamshell!"

The Toon Blue-Eyes waved adorably in consent, then wiggled away, its body stretching and weaving through the fighting crowds.

Yugi was manipulating a Trap Hole into place with the help of Magician of Faith. He saw the castle appear, and reinforcements come streaming out of it; his heart lifted for the first time in hours. They had been on the verge of losing, but Pegasus brought new hope. A few minutes later, Yugi blinked quizzically as he beheld a strange sight in the sky. Toon Blue-Eyes buzzed happily through the air, with a startled and nervous Mokuba and Serenity perched upon its back, carrying them into the safety of Toon World.

Mako and Fenrir led Pegasus's reinforcements over to Slifer, still trying to struggle off the ground. At the same time, Toon Goblin Attack force descended on Obelisk, freeing the god from all the other Monsters trying to bring him down. Finally, with his assailants otherwise distracted, Obelisk rose to his full height.

Slifer, too, escaped the attacks of the other Monsters. Leaving Mako and Ryou to deal with Ra's minions, Slifer launched himself over the ground, running at an amazing speed, flapping his wings to make himself run faster. He caught Ra by surprise; the Winged Dragon was still on the ground, attempting to combat Toon World once again. The two gods went rolling across the ground, squishing the ditch where Mokuba and Serenity had just been hiding, and smothering the flames left over from the Fire Monster clash. Obelisk lumbered heavily after them.

For a long while, the fight of the gods was obscured in a thick cloud of dust and smoke. The rebels concentrated on the battles immediately before them; a flock of winged beasts, mostly Tornado Birds, launched an aerial attack. A group of Ra's Earth Monsters also lumbered slowly over to where Tristan and Espa Roba were still battling with the opposing Machine Monsters, but before the Earth Monsters reached the fight, a well-timed Fissure Magic Card unleashed by Shadi, Ishizu, and Summoner Monk swallowed up most of them.

The Fire Monsters suddenly renewed their assault, directing their attacks on Seto's remaining dragons, as well as Ezra's Luster Dragon. Geoff ran through the battlefield in search of Mako, to enlist Water Monsters to deal with the firey threat.

Yami, for his part, ducked and weaved his way through the battlefield, accompanied by a dazed but determined Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician. Mai and Kimo kept surreptitious backup, fighting threats to Yami's path but without calling attention to him. Joey and Bakura staged a very noisy diversion, commanding their Monsters to make as much noise as possible, and centering most of the battle around themselves.

Yami cleared the edge of the battle and climbed atop a pile of rubble. The dust was starting to settle around the gods, although they were still roaring viciously. The struggle had slackened now. Slifer had wound his long, long body all around Ra, squeezing him into submission and pinning down one of his wings. Obelisk had grabbed the other wing with one massive hand and had Ra's head feathers squeezed in his other fist, effectively stilling Ra's head. The Winged Dragon still kicked his legs fiercely, and clacked his beak and roared, but his struggles were slowing down.

Yami met Ra's eyes for a moment. "It didn't have to end like this," he whispered, knowing that the god could hear him. "If you had been willing to listen… to cooperate… I didn't want the Duel Monsters to be oppressed either. We could have worked together to build a universe of peace for humans and Monsters alike."

Ra's eyes snapped in anger, and Yami decided it wasn't safe to linger any longer. He leapt to the ground, landing next to the tablet he'd singled out earlier, now half-buried under kicked-up dirt. Trusting Mai and Kimo to watch his back, he sank into a cross-legged position, his hands on the tablet, closed his eyes, and began to chant.

Several long minutes later, silence fell, not only over the field where the gods had been wrestling, but over the entire city of Akuma. Yami opened his eyes and studied the tablet in front of him, now engraved on the surface with an image of a snarling, vicious Winged Dragon of Ra.

He brushed his hands off, and stood, and there was still silence. The Pharaoh recalled Slifer and Obelisk to their cards, and tucked them safely in his shirt pocket for the time being.

The silence prevailed for a few more seconds, during which the entire battlefield seemed to hold a collective breath. Joey, in the middle of the field, gave a shout of joy; Téa burst into tears; and humans and Monsters alike erupted in a cacophony of ecstatic applause, exclamations, impromptu victory dances, and warm embraces.


	29. Chapter 29

Attaku

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Note: This is probably a totally inappropriate final author's note, but I thought this was hilarious: http(COLON)(SLASH)(SLASH)media(DOT)photobucket(DOT)com/image/yugioh%20card%20slifer/cornholio2007/slifer(DOT)jpg

On the more usual side, I cannot thank you, reader, ENOUGH for sticking with this whole crazy arc! I again sincerely apologize that this story took me over five years to finish, but every few months during those five years, I would get a review or get notification that this story was favorited, and it kept me determined to finish it someday – and "someday" is TODAY! I hope you enjoy the epilogue!

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Epilogue

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A few hours later, as the sun had just begun to set, painting the dusty sky a brilliantly smeared pink, Yami climbed the tallest remaining pile of rubble and spread out his hands for attention. His friends, allies, and one-time enemies alike fell silent immediately. Although nothing had changed on the outside (except perhaps that Yami looked a little dirtier than usual, and had a bruise on his forehead), his victory over Ra had established Yami firmly as the rightful Pharaoh, and there was _something_ noble about him that radiated off in waves.

"I have sent Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra back to the Shadow Realm, imprisoned – all of them – in stone tablets," Yami announced. Ra's former minions shifted uneasily, but Yami continued. "I did not do this to be cruel. I did this because such power was never meant to walk this earth. Gods and mortals, even Duel Monsters, have never existed in the same plane. They are in a different world now, somewhere beyond even the Shadow Realm, and it is their rightful home. They can rule there as they desire." He cleared his throat.

"I know there are still many of you out there who fought against me, and who would still do so today. You have a rightful complaint," he acknowledged, causing many of the Monsters to look at each other in surprise. "You have been oppressed for a long time by humans. As justification, I can only claim our ignorance. We were fooled by the simplicity of cards; we did not realize that you were beings too, just as worthy as humans." Strike Ninja, who had been one of Ra's most ardent supporters, looked appeased.

"You wanted only to live in a world as beautiful as this one," Yami continued, with a sweeping gesture at the pink and red sunset, "and for that, who can fault you? The Shadow Realm has grown dark and cold after centuries of dark magic – began, I am afraid to admit, under my rule, with the twisted creation of the Millennium Items." Bakura, in the crowd, bent his head and silently sent his approval to the Pharaoh for admitting the mistake.

"Ra wanted to take over this earthly realm, and wanted it for Duel Monsters alone. I believed for a long time that he was mistaken, and that humans and Duel Monsters could live in peace together. I still believe that – but I no longer believe that we can coexist in this earthly realm."

Shock swept the crowd.

"Your place is in the Shadow Realm," Yami said gently. "This realm was once a world of technology, of science, and the survivors will want – and deserve – that world, _their_ world, back." The humans who had been in the rebel army and survived the battle nodded. "And what place does Magic have in a world of science? You belong in a world of Magic; you belong in the Shadow Realm."

His audience grew dissatisfied again. Yami let them whisper loudly for a moment, then raised his arms again, commanding their attention.

"Never fear!" he cried. "I _understand _how the Shadow Realm has grown twisted, and how it is not a suitable home for you – _yet_. As it is, the Shadow Realm is not worthy. But it _can_ be. It is not beyond the point where it cannot be fixed. And, after all, it is a magical land. We will return the Millennium Items to the Shadow Realm and right the wrongs of so many centuries ago. I will come with you, to rebuild your home. And with a little magic and a little love, we can make the Shadow Realm as beautiful as it once was, as beautiful as the earthly realm, as beautiful as you deserve!"

There was a heartbeat of silence, then cheering, twice as loud as the cheering following Ra's fall, erupted from the crowd. Monsters who had been moral enemies a few hours ago embraced, clapped each other on the back, shouted praises of the Pharaoh, prophesized of the beauty of their new home, _the Shadow Realm_, no longer a land of shadows, but a land of sunlight and laughter.

Yami clambered down from his makeshift pedestal and walked slowly over to where his friends were gathered, quietest of all the crowd, faces white with shock. His eyes were immediately drawn to Yugi.

"Yami…" Yugi began, but his voice trailed off.

"Yugi, do you remember what you told me long ago, as I was leaving the underground tombs on my way to Akuma for the first time?" Yami questioned. He gave a half-smile. "Back when we still thought Marik and Bakura were the bad guys?" ("Hey," Marik said indignantly.)

'_We'll need you, in the end. What do you think will happen after Marik and Bakura are defeated?'_

"I was talking about rebuilding the world," Yugi sniffled.

"Yes," Yami nodded. "But it wasn't like we thought it would be, Yugi. It turns out that I have another world to rebuild… and to rebuild this one falls to you and yours." When Yugi looked unconvinced, he continued: "I've never belonged here, really; in this time, I'm just a reincarnation. I am from an age of Magic, and it turns out I am being called to a land of Magic, to help out a group that needs a leader." Yami smiled wryly. "Talented though the Monsters may be, they do lack the human capability for strategy, and that's why they'll need me. And others, should they choose to come," he added, lifting his eyes to the group at large. "I need bearers to bring the Millennium Items to the Shadow Realm. Their magical influence must be removed from this world, so that technology can reign supreme once more." (Seto barely restrained a satisfied smirk. At last.) "And, of course, I need the Millennium Items in the Shadow Realm so that I can finally undo the corrupted influence of the dark method behind their creation."

Mai and Joey exchanged nervous looks. "Does this mean we have to go to the Shadow Realm with you?" Joey finally asked.

"The Key and Necklace must come," Yami replied, "but it is up to you whether you will stay or go."

"I'll go wherever Joey goes," Serenity announced suddenly, coming up behind her brother and grabbing his hand. Joey squeezed it tenderly.

"Where are you going?" Mai asked him, her large violet eyes anxious.

He looked at her and smiled shyly, and her heart fluttered, and it was like their first kiss all over again. "Wherever you are," he said seriously. "And where will you be, Mai Valentine?"

"Wherever you are," she managed to whisper.

Joey grinned crookedly, his own heart thumping faster. "I guess this means none of us are going anywhere for a while," he said, grabbing Mai's hand with his free one and pulling her and his sister closer.

Shadi and Ishizu drifted over. "If that is your choice, I believe I will reclaim my Necklace," Ishizu said softly, giving Mai a smile.

"And I, the Key," Shadi added. "We will go into the new world and assist the Pharaoh."

With a quirked eyebrow, Seto removed the Rod from his belt loop, where it had done nothing but get in the way the entire battle long, and handed it to Malik. Marik made a quick grab for it, but Malik held it away and hid behind Ishizu. "I'll come with you, sister," he mumbled into the back of her robes. "And so will Marik."

"Big brother," Mokuba said from his place between Ezra and Seto. "We're staying, right? To help hook all the computers back up? You see," he added, "I met a boy named Noah. He's our brother – he's Gozaburo's son. He's trapped in a virtual reality. I made a promise to him that, when the world was back to normal, we would set him free. So we have to stay to save Noah."

Seto followed very little of that, but he was carried away by the general mood of the day. "Of course we'll stay," he promised, ruffling Mokuba's hair, mentally thinking that if Yami wanted him in the Shadow Realm, he would have to tie him up and drag him there. "And we'll save this Noah, whoever he is, and wherever he is."

"We'll go," Ryou announced unexpectedly. All heads turned to look at him, and he flushed. "Bakura and I," he clarified. "We'll come with you, Yami." Bakura met Yami's eyes; the Pharaoh knew of his personal motivation for ensuring that the Millennium Items came to a proper resting place. They nodded.

"And I'll come," Geoff said quietly. "My family… well, there's nothing left for me here. But I have training as a magician; I can put my magic to good use in the Shadow Realm. I mean, in the new world."

"I'm staying," Ezra said, even more quietly. She exchanged slight smiles with Seto, and put her hand on Anuba's head. The jackal, scarred from the battle but strong and healthy as ever, rubbed her head against Ezra's leg affectionately. "I'm staying too," Tristan declared.

"I'm going," Pegasus said, in an unexpectedly joyful voice. When his friends turned to look at him, they saw Cecelia floating before him. Their hands were outstretched and clasping desperately; Cecelia looked more solid than ever. "I can be real again in the Shadow Realm," she said, half-laughing, half-crying, "if you bring the Millennium Items there."

"We'll come with you, Master Pegasus," Kimo said, clapping the man's right shoulder; Croquet clasped Pegasus's left shoulder and nodded affirmatively.

"I expect you're going with your family," Téa said, turning to Odion, inexplicable tears welling up in her eyes. He'd been her best friend for the last year. "I'll miss you."

"Téa," Odion said softly, "Come."

She looked up at him, startled. He smiled down at her and held out his hand. "Téa, you've always talked about fixing the injustices of the world. You spoke compassionately of the Duel Monsters. Now's your chance to live up to everything you believe in."

She was shocked, and her heart thumped erratically, but Odion was right. She could do some good in the Shadow Realm. Although it would mean putting a whole life behind her, she accepted the truth of his words, and slowly took his hand.

"I'm staying," Yugi choked out through his tears. "I guess you always knew I was staying. It'll be hard living away from you, Yami, and I'll never forget you. But you're right. This is my world, and I'm going to help rebuild it."

Yami placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Good-bye, friend," he said quietly. "I'll never forget you either." He started to pull away, then turned back. "When you meet your grandfather again, give him my best."

When Yugi turned around, Téa, Joey, and Tristan were standing there. Téa's eyes were red. "Hold out your hands," she quoted, putting hers out; the rest of them also stretched out their hands to form a circle. "Remember our special sign?"

"We'll never forget," Yugi promised.

"We'll miss you, Téa," Joey murmured.

"I'll miss you all too," she sobbed, throwing herself into their arms. "Make… make this world a better place, okay?"

"We'll try every day," Tristan promised.

Yami opened the connection between this world and the Shadow Realm for the last time. People who had been banished there by Ra streamed out and Duel Monsters streamed in. Duke stumbled out of the brightly-lit passage, rubbing his eyes repeatedly. Tristan gave a cry of delight and caught him by the elbow, steering him over to the rest of the group. They waved good-bye as Shadi, Ishizu, Malik, Marik, Ryou, Bakura, Odion, Pegasus, Kimo, Croquet, and Téa passed slowly over the threshold into the bright light. "They – they're leaving?" Duke asked, and his voice cracked. He joined in with the others in calling "Good-bye! Good-bye!"

Seto peered in through the passageway. A roar echoed from far-away, and he saw the Blue-Eyes White Dragons, all of them, swooping around, welcoming the new visitors. Dark Magician Girl playfully rode on one of them, while Dark Magician stood at the end of the passage, ready to greet the Pharaoh.

Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor were one of the last humans pushing their way out. Rex caught sight of Espa Roba, grinning and waving in the crowd. He started to wave back. "Look, Weevil, it's Espa! …Weevil? Weevil!"

Weevil had stopped in his tracks, his eyes following the progression of Mystical Elf as she smilingly entered the Shadow Realm.

"I'm going back," he said suddenly, and whirled around and started retracing his steps.

"What?!" Rex exclaimed. "Are you crazy? You're not doing this just to impress Mystical Elf, are you?"

"It's not for the girl, stupid," Weevil called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the light. "We were _heroes_ with the Duel Monsters! We fought with them, we made a stand, and we were finally heroes, Rex!"

"Suit yourself, bug-brain," Rex grumbled as he stomped away determinedly. "_I'm_ going back to my nice, normal, safe life… who needs you anyway, with your stupid glasses and your dopey haircut…" his footsteps slowed, then stopped. He and Weevil had a ridiculous idea of friendship, but they were still best friends, and that was the most important thing either of them had got. "Okay, _fine_, you insect! Just wait up!" He turned around and hurried back.

Yami was the last one through the portal. He turned around and gave his friends a long, lingering look, then lifted his gaze to watch the last of the sun sink below the horizon, leaving the sky a rich purple. Then, with a smile that spoke of promises, but with finality, he bowed his head and the portal closed. The group was left standing in the deepening darkness. They stood that way until the sky was a uniform, deep blue.

"Alright, Kaiba," Joey finally said, breaking the silence. "Let's get those computers back online. I've got a whole year's worth of video games to catch up on!"


End file.
